


Ultimate Lied

by Horrorfan247



Category: Ben 10 Series, Elfen Lied
Genre: Acceptance, Adventure, Death, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Horror, Mutants, Racism, Redemption, Science Fiction, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:54:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 34
Words: 204,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23235790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Horrorfan247/pseuds/Horrorfan247
Summary: After Ben Tennyson is sucked through a portal, he ends up in a world different then hsi own. However, his luck begins to turn when he meets three teenagers. including one with pink hair and...horns? As Ben begins to know more aobut the world, an evil organization is hellbent on capturing the horned girl. And now the Omnitrix wielder will find himself fighting for his and his new friend's life. All the while digging into the history of the horned girl and the conspiracy behind the organization
Relationships: Ben Tennyson/Kaede | Lucy | Nyu, Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson, Kouta/Yuka (Elfen Lied)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 8





	1. Arriving in the New World

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Everyone. So as you know. A Ben 10 X Elfen Lied crossover has been going on in my mind for some time now. I read a story called Ben 10 Multiverse One-shots by Humantrix-X-24, and one chapter had Lucy from Elfen Lied. And I have been thinking to myself. "This would be a good story. What would happen if Ben was sent to an alternate version of Kamakura Japan? With the Diclonius?" So I have been thinking about it for some time. And after reading Ultimate Fairy by Ultimate10 and Ultimate Ga Kill by MegaRdaniels. It made my inspiration for the story even more. So as you know. Ben will be in Kamakura Japan, and in an alternate one as well. I mean sure I could have had it take place in the same universe, but it would have made things too complicated. Also, Ben will be paired up with Lucy, Ben will have the new Omnitrix, but will have the Evolutionary Feature added because seriously, those Ultimate forms were badass and it was ridiculous that Omniverse never bothered using them again. So anyway sit back, grab some popcorn, and let's dive into the story :)
> 
> Ben 10 Belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump, and the Anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone. So as you know. A Ben 10 X Elfen Lied crossover has been going on in my mind for some time now. I read a story called Ben 10 Multiverse One-shots by Humantrix-X-24, and one chapter had Lucy from Elfen Lied. And I have been thinking to myself. "This would be a good story. What would happen if Ben was sent to an alternate version of Kamakura Japan? With the Diclonius?" So I have been thinking about it for some time. And after reading Ultimate Fairy by Ultimate10 and Ultimate Ga Kill by MegaRdaniels. It made my inspiration for the story even more. So as you know. Ben will be in Kamakura Japan, and in an alternate one as well. I mean sure I could have had it take place in the same universe, but it would have made things too complicated. Also, Ben will be paired up with Lucy, Ben will have the new Omnitrix, but will have the Evolutionary Feature added because seriously, those Ultimate forms were badass and it was ridiculous that Omniverse never bothered using them again. So anyway sit back, grab some popcorn, and let's dive into the story :)
> 
> Ben 10 Belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekley Young Jump, and the Anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

Ben Tennyson, the teenage superhero was at the Burger Shack one night chowing down on some delicious Chili Fries and a Burger. After saving the world from Vilgax (again) and getting the new Omnimatrix from Azmuth. There haven't been any reports about alien activity recently, so Ben has been sticking to stopping robberies. That has been pretty much life so far for our young hero, his girlfriend Julie had broken up with him due to the fact that his hero work had made it difficult for her, but they still remain friends though.

"Thanks for the food!" Ben called out to the workers with a smile. They offered to let him have it for free, but he declined and happily paid for them. Oh yea, speaking of...The world was now aware of Ben using his aliens, and that made life difficult at first, what with mercenaries and bounty hunters coming after him. But luckily it hasn't happened for a while now.

As Ben was walking home from the Burger Shack, he noticed a weird glowing light coming from an alley. He got into a defensive stance as he had his hand over the Omnitrix.

"Better be careful." He said as he walked slowly over to the light, thankfully it wasn't an alien monster or anything, but a weird portal. Ben looked at it with awe. "I wonder if Professor Paradox saw this." Ben said, as he got a closer look, he instantly got sucked in with a YELP. And with that, the portal closed up. The hero of Bellwood and the world was gone.

* * *

_Yuigahama Beach_

Two teenagers were standing on the shoreline, one boy, and one girl. One was a boy who had dark hair, wearing a blue long shirt underneath a white shirt, blue jeans, and green sneakers. His name was Kouta, and he had come back to his home of Kamakura, Japan for college. The girl was about his height and had dark brown hair, and wore a pink shirt underneath a brown dress, had knee socks, and brown shoes. This was Yuka, Kouta's cousin.

"Hey, Kouta..." Yuka began as she was looking down. "Do you remember when we used to come here and play as kids? All three of us?"

"Yea...you, me, and Kanae." Kouta then crouched down and looked at the sand. "I remember that on our last day here, she was collecting shells." He remembered that Kanae had shown him some shells, but he brushed them off as not looking so pretty, much to her irate. As he was still thinking about it, Yuka called him to look at the ocean with worry. Kouta looked up and his eyes widened, there was a girl possibly around their age with long beautiful pink hair standing in the ocean...and she was NAKED.

After wondering what was going on, the pink-haired girl rubbed her eyes and looked around with confusion as she let out a noise.

"Nyu?" She said in a soft voice. Kouta and Yuka expressions became one of confusion, as Kouta was trying to get her attention, the girl looked frightened and she tried to make a run for it, but she fell face-first into the sand, when she got back up she started crying, like a little kid who fell down for the first time. Kouta didn't know what to do, but Yuka grabbed him and dragged him away for a little bit.

"Kouta, take off your clothes." She said to him. This caused the boy's eyes to widen.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"Just do it!" Yuka said sternly, Kouta sighed and relented.

Nearby Ben was laying down in the sand, he was groaning to himself as he pushed himself up and took a good look at his new surroundings.

"Where am I?" He asked himself, he got up fully and brushed the sand off his clothes. He took a good look at the beach and sighed. "Litterbugs." He muttered under his breath. "Still though, wonder where that portal sent me, looks like just a regular beach, maybe it transported me to the beach?" He then looked at the Omnitrix to get in contact with Gwen, but to his horror and surprise, he wasn't getting any feed or connection. "Crap, whatever this place is, I can't get in contact with Gwen, Kevin, or Granpa."

Ben sighed and realized that if he was indeed in a new world, he would have to make due by himself. Plus being the hero he was, there might be some people to help as well. As he started walking away from the beach he noticed three teenagers coming this way, when he saw them, they seemed to be normal teens, when he got a view of the pink-haired girl, his eyes went wide.

" _She looks lovely._ " He thought. But then a questionable look on his face, why did she only wear a shirt? And was she wearing a cat headband? He was a little nervous to approach them, but suddenly swallowed it and went up to them.

"Hi! Sorry to bug you three, but I am kinda lost and want to know where I am at." He said. He was expecting them to go all fanboy and girl on him, but to his surprise, they didn't and instead, the brown-haired girl smiled warmly at him.

"Sure. you are Yuigahama Beach." She said with a smile, the boy nodded his head and the pink-haired girl just looked at him. "Are you a foreigner?" She asked. Ben looked at her like she was confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, you are in Kamakura, Japan." She said to him. Ben was surprised, the portal he was sucked into led him into Japan? He has never been to Japan before, she was nervous. He simply launched nervously and rubbed his head.

"I guess I am. My name is Ben Tennyson." He said as he extended his hand, Yuka, Kouta, and the pink-haired girl looked confused until they realized that this must be how he meets people in his own country.

Yuka smiled and took his hand. "I'm Yuka, this is my cousin Kouta." Kouta gave a small smile and shook Ben's hand as well. The pink-haired girl looked at the hand curiously and started to hold it and play with it. Ben looked to them and gave a look as if to say "What is her deal?"

"Yea...we actually found her a little while ago." Yuka said. Ben looked at the pink-haired girl, who was giggling as she was still playing with his hand. He noticed the blood coming down her hand a little bit and the horns on her head.

" _What happened to her?_ " Ben thought to himself

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben was walking with Yuka, Kouta, and the pink-haired girl. Because he was new to the area, Yuka offered him a place to stay for a little while. Ben told her that she didn't have to worry about it, but she insisted. As Ben was walking with them he took a good look at all his surroundings, he had never been to Japan before, nonetheless city in Japan, and he was blown away by the beautiful scenery and architecture. Also, he was amazed by all the Cherry Blossoms that were scattered through the wind. After a few minutes, they had arrived at their location, which looked like a large house.

"I knew you guys were going to rent me a house. Is this it?" Kouta asked while looking at it.

"It was a traditional Japanese restaurant, but they went out of business a while ago." Yuka explained. Ben was looking at the place with awe.

"Did your mom explain why they closed down?" Ben asked. Yuka put her finger on her chin and thought about it for a while.

"Not really, but either way my mom said that Kouta can stay here as long as he cleans the house every day, he doesn't have to pay rent."

Ben sweatdropped at this a little bit, he doesn't have to pay rent? Cool, but for the price of cleaning every day? Ben was thinking that maybe it was a good idea that Yuka was allowing him to stay awhile, Ben could help Kouta out with the cleaning.

Meanwhile, he was looking over at the pink-haired girl as she was looking at the Cherry Blossoms falling on the ground in awe, he was looking at the horns on her head and was wondering if they were really headbands. He would have the Omnimatrix scan her to see if she might be some new form of alien. But there was no doubt that he thought she was cute though. He immediately shut those thoughts off though. Not ready for a relationship yet, plus he doesn't even know her that well enough.

"So I'm really just a free caretaker?" Kouta asked disbelievingly. Yuka looked at him and smiled.

"Well, people always say that there is nothing worse for a building than being neglected!" She said chirping.

" _Which people say that?_ " Kouta and Ben thought to themselves sweat dropping. Yuka turned to Ben.

"Ben, you don't mind helping Kouta out with the work do you?" Ben would have said something, but she was letting him stay here for the time being, and he was grateful for it as well, since he still can't get in contact with the others, so he smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll do it." He said giving her a thumbs up, prompting the girl to smile at him, as they were walking inside. Ben noticed the pink-haired girl still looking up in the sky at the Cherry Blossoms, he smiled and patted her on the shoulder and she looked at him with curious eyes.

"Hey, let's catch up with them." He said as he grabbed her hand and they started walking to follow Kouta and Yuka. When Ben felt the girl's hand his face felt warm, her hand was really smooth and warm. Ben quickly shook his head in order to get those thoughts out of his head.

When Yuka opened the door, they all walked inside, but also took their shoes off at the door, Ben was confused, so he took his sneakers off as well.

"Home sweet home I guess." Kouta mumbled. Ben, however, looked at him and smiled.

"Don't worry man, as long as I am here, I'll help you out." Ben said with a grin. Kouta returned the grin and thanked him, he then caught sight of a Grandfather clock and walked over to it.

"Wow, this must be an antique!" Kouta said with fascination. Yuka called out that the clock won't work and that it must be broken since it won't work even if it was winded. "Oh, that's too bad."

Ben smirked however. " _Seems like a job for Brainstorm._ " He thought to himself, maybe at some point while they are asleep, he can turn into Brainstorm and see if he might be able to fix the clock. But then he heard some whimpering and found the pink-haired girl tugging the sleeve of his jacket. "Hey, are you ok?" He asked concerningly.

"Nyu!" She said. "Nyu!" She was looking at all three of them and whimpering out the same thing.

"I don't know what to do." Yuka said concerningly. "And we don't even know her name."

"Well all she keeps saying is Nyu...hey, that sounds like a good name for her." He said, with Yuka giving him a questionable look. "What do you think Ben?"

Ben was studying Nyu's habits, it resembled much like that of infants, did something happen to her that caused her to act like this? Accident? Trauma? Ben didn't know, but he wanted to find out so he could help her. Ben was also thinking about the name, he guessed that they can call her that...until they figure out her real name.

"I agree, at least till we figure out her real name though." Ben said. Nyu was sighing with relief and joy as she was sitting down. "I guess she likes it." Ben said while smiling, but it quickly faded as soon as he saw yellow liquid coming from underneath "Uhh, guys?"

( _Eyecatch of Ben looking out to see a view of Kamakura_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Nyu playing with Grey Matter, much to his annoyance_ )

_Maple Inn_

Ben was currently sitting in his room settling in, he looked inside his wallet to find that he still had some money left over. He was hoping that this place had a bank so that he could convert his dollars into yen. Ben sighed as she looked up to the ceiling.

"They seem nice enough, but I am really curious about Nyu..or whatever her real name is. I am also very curious about those things on her head, are they accessories? Or are they real horns? Only time will tell." He said as he looked up. "When everyone is asleep tonight, I'll possibly use the Omnitrix to scan her, just to see." He said he wasn't doing this out of spite or malice, he was curious, and he felt it in his instinct since he is a superhero after all. His stomach then grumbled and he groaned as he rubbed it. Oh, what he wouldn't give for some chili fries and a smoothie right about now.

At that point, Yuka opened the door, with Nyu close to her. "Hey Ben, we are about to have some rice balls, would you like one?" Ben contemplated this for a moment, but he felt like there wasn't that much for everyone so he declined.

"No thanks Yuka, I'm good." He said reassuringly.

"Are you sure? I bought enough for everyone." She said with a pleasant smile.

Ben looked surprised and smiled. "Well, I guess I will try one afterall." He said with a smile as Nyu suddenly grabbed his arm and led him out to the dining room.

Ben was marveled by the lovely area and the small table. Since he was new to Japan, he was wondering where the seats were. Yuka told him that he can kneel down to the table. Something he thought was kinda strange but nonetheless he kneeled down a nice pillow. Yuka got the rice balls from her purse and gave one to everybody. Ben opened up and saw that it was rice wrapped in seaweed. Ben didn't want to eat it, but since Yuka bought it, it would be rude of him not to try one.

Kouta showed Ben how to hold it and Ben did it as he was taught, he took a bite out of it and smiled.

"This is pretty good, the first time I ever have eaten one." Ben said as he kept eating his rice ball. Yuka then realized something.

"Oh that's right, hey Ben, what country are you from?" Yuka asked. Ben held up a finger and waited till he swallowed.

"Sorry about that, had to swallow. But I'm from America." Ben said with a smile.

"I always wanted to visit America." Yuka said with a smile. What's it like?" She asked.

Ben was nervous a little bit, he didn't think they would believe him if he said that he had to deal with aliens on a regular basis. "It's pretty ok for the most part, there is a crime, but most of the time, it is pretty nice." Ben simply said. Yuka smiled.

"I do hope I can visit America one day." She said, with Kouta agreeing with her. Yuka saw Nyu and turned to the boys. "Where do you both think she came from?" Yuka asked. "I mean what do you think she was doing there?"

Kouta was at a loss for words as Ben gave them a questioned look. "Oh that's right, we found her in the ocean standing up." Kouta explained to Ben. This prompted the boy to raise his eyebrow.

"Huh?" He asked, but then noticed that Nyu was eating the rice ball sloppily, which also didn't go unnoticed by Kouta.

"You never had rice balls?" Kouta asked as he was putting the pieces of rice off the table. "You hold them like this see?" He said as he was showing the girl how to hold it. Ben grabbed another and opened it and took her hand.

"Just like what Kouta is showing you." Ben said as he adjusted Nyu's fingers to show her how to hold it. Nyu looked at her and saw the rice ball and opened her mouth, and looked at Ben and Kouta with pleading eyes.

"*sigh* you're hopeless," Kouta said as Nyu took another big bite from her rice ball, and she squealed in delight. Ben and Kouta saw the little rice balls stuck to her cheek and they both rubbed them off, causing Nyu to smile brightly, causing Kouta and Ben to smile at her childish antics. Yuka simply impatiently looked away as she was tapping the table, and it didn't go unnoticed by Ben.

"Oh boy..." Ben said as he knew what that face meant.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

A man was watching several men in Special Force uniforms load into a helicopter. He was a young man who had dark hair, wore a blue suit jacket over a yellow button shirt, with a purple tie. This was Chief Kurama, the General Director of this institute, it is the goal of this institute that they study Diclonius, a race of newly evolved humans with deadly telekinetic powers. He turned to see one of the men laughing at himself.

"And what do you find funny about Bando?" Kurama asked the man, who smirked at him.

"I am going to have fun on this mission, I get to kill this Diclonius on sight, this will be fun." Bando said while chuckling some more, he didn't notice that a timid woman was coming up to him.

"Mr. Band-"

**PUNCH**

Bando punched the girl hard in the face, that she was sent tumbling back. Kurama saw this and sighed and shook his head with displeasure. Bando looked down at the woman and sneered.

"You should never sneak on me like that, you stupid bitch." He said. He then walked onto the ship and Kurama went over to the woman and helped her up.

" _I hate his attitude, but he is the only one who can kill Lucy._ " Kurama thought

* * *

_Maple Inn_

It was now night time and it was raining outside. Kouta and Nyu were both in the dining room as Kouta was looking through his bag, with Nyu watching with curiosity. Yuka came in with a broom.

"Hey, I just gave the place a quick one." She said. At that moment Ben walked out wiping his hands.

"Just got done with the dishes." Ben said.

"Oh, thanks." Kouta said as he was still going through his bag. Yuka took notice of Ben's watch and was in awe.

"Hey, Ben? What kind of watch is that?"

Ben immediately froze on sight. Oh No! She saw the Omnitrix, what was he going to do? As he was trying to figure out what to say, Kouta looked up and wanted to know as well, Nyu saw the watch and was walking and trying to touch it, that is when Ben saw and backed away.

"It's nothing special, just something I got from a friend of mine." Ben said lying, Nyu saw the watch again and tried to touch it but Ben told her no. "Sorry Nyu, but you can't touch it." Ben said sternly. Nyu looked confused as Ben sighed.

"Well, it looks cool." Kouta said as he was going through his bag. Yuka looked over at Nyu with some worry and whispered some stuff to Kouta, Ben couldn't make it out but he saw Nyu going through Koutas bag, as he was about to tell her to stop, a box came out of it, and the lid fell off, inside was a pink seashell. Kouta noticed this and picked it up to look at it.

"Wow, it looks pretty." Ben said. Yuka looked at Kouta sadly.

"Was this...from the last time you went to the beach?" Yuka asked. Kouta nodded his head.

"It wasn't long after that...when she got sick and died." Yuka and Ben both gasped at this.

"Oh...I'm sorry for your loss Kouta." Ben said while patting the fellow teenager on the shoulder.

"You said she was sick?" Yuka asked curiously.

"Yes, this seashell...it's been like a memento of my sister, and since I have come back here...it made sense...that I bring it with me." Kouta simply said.

Ben looked at him sadly, he lost his sister and he has a memento of her. It was sweet of him, Ben saw Nyu look at the seashell and took it. " _She acts like a toddler...I am still wondering what could have happened to her that is making her act like this._ " He thought, he then saw Nyu break Koutas shell in half, and she was smiling about it. " _Not good..._ " He thought with dread

Kouta then became really pissed and roughly grabbed Nyu by the collar of her shirt.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" He yelled, frightening the girl and causing Yuka to jump in and hold him back. Ben immediately ran over to separate them as Nyu was hiding behind him fearfully. "I JUST SAID THIS WAS A MEMENTO OF MY SISTER!"

"CALM DOWN DUDE, YOU'RE SCARING HER!" Ben yelled as Nyu was digging her head deeper into Ben's back, causing him to turn and see the scared look on her face.

"KOUTA CALM DOWN!" Yuka tried to tell him but he wouldn't listen.

"JUST GO!" Yuka and Ben both went wide-eyed at what Kouta said. "YOU HEARD ME! JUST GO!" Nyu's eyes immediately began to tear and she let go of Ben and jumped over the table, Ben immediately began to give chase.

"Nyu, wait!" Ben said as he tried to grab her hand, but she simply pushed him away and ran out the door whimpering. Ben sighed and leaned his back against the wall."What the hell just happened?" He asked himself as he rubbed his face in irritation. Sure Nyu broke the seashell, but he remembered that she was acting like a little id, so she just didn't know better. Ben immediately got up and was about to scold Kouta. As soon as he got back to the dining room, he saw Kouta sitting down and muttering under his breath and Yuka looked down sadly.

"I think...she understood that the seashell made you upset." Yuka said. Kouta looked up at her with a questionable glare. "Wherever Kanae is, she wouldn't want to see you like this Kouta." Yuka said. Kouta's glare turned into a soft look as he looked at the broken shell.

"And besides, you have to remember." Ben said. "She acts like a kid, I don't know why, but something must have happened to her that is causing her to act like this." Ben said sternly. He then got his green jacket. "I am going to go out and find her, I am not leaving her out in the freezing cold."

"I'll come with you." Yuka said.

"No, it might be quicker if we went separately to Yuka." Ben said as he then exited the kitchen. Yuka turned back to see Kouta, who was still looking down at the seashell.

" _What have I done?_ " Kouta thought to himself as he rubbed his head in despair.

When Ben got outside, he made sure he wasn't followed and activated the Omnitrix.

"Ok, let's see here..." He said as he was scrolling through the selections. He then thought he picked out the perfect one for the job, he pushed on the dial and a green light flashed. when the flash faded, standing in Ben's place was a red, humanoid, manta ray-like alien with yellow-colored horns coming from his nose, he had gills under his arms, yellow patagia, two black stripes that resembled lightning bolts coming from his shoulders right to the Omnitrix symbol that was on his chest.

" **JETRAY!** " The humanoid yelled out and he took to the skies. He was flying all over the area looking for Nyu. "Shouldn't be too hard to find." Jetray said. "Just look for a girl with pink hair, and cat ears." He simply said as he looked all around. He then finally spotted her at the beach nearby, he landed far away from her and pressed on the Omnitrix dial, turning him back into Ben. He ran and called out to her.

"NYU!" Ben yelled. Nyu turned around and smiled brightly when she saw Ben. She ran over and gave him a big hug. "Are you ok?" Ben asked concerningly, he noticed some tears still going down her face, and he wiped them away with his thumb. "C'mon, let's go back to the house." He said, but Nyu shook her head as if to say no and Ben was confused as she was digging through the sand.

Ben was looking at her with a confused look. Just what was she trying to dig up? He crouched down and saw what she had, a pink seashell and it looked like the one that she broke. He smiled at her. "I see, you want to make it up to Kouta for breaking it?" Nyu looked at him and smiled as she nodded her head, Ben smiled as he patted her shoulder. "That is very nice of you to do Nyu." He said, Nyu smiled brightly and hugged him again. She then let go and looked ahead.

"Huh?" Ben said as he looked to what she was looking at, and he narrowed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that is it, people. Man, that was a lot fo word I typed haha, so I do hope you all liked it so far and I hope I kept Bens's personality the same. First time I am doing a Fanfic story with Ben 10 involved so bear with me people, I have only seen the original series and saw a little bit of Alien Force and seen clips of Ultimate Alien, but been doing homework on it. So anyway for the shipping. That won't happen till a littel bit later, I do plan on Ben liking Lucy/Nyu/Kaede at some point, but for now, it is limiting it to blushes and making it only a small crush. Now don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me. See you all next time :)


	2. Beach Brawl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. So just a little question. Am I portraying Ben's character well? I ask because I am trying to make him the nice, mature guy he was then he was in the original series. Just wondering, also again as I said I am going to try to mix things from both eh anime and manga, and one of those things is manga exclusive character Nozomi, she will appear in the story :) Anyways let's all sit back, grab some popcorn and soda, and begin :)

_Yuigahama Beach_

Ben and Nyu were both staring at someone coming at a distance, Ben narrowed his eyes at who it was. It was Kouta, and he had an umbrella with him. Ben was not furious at Kouta, but he was a littel peeved at how Kouta acted. He was hoping that the fellow teenager apologized.

"Kouta, what are you doing here?" Ben asked sternly. Kouta looked back at him.

"Easy, I came to find Nyu as well, and I guess you found her." Kouta said as he knelt down with them and looekd over at Nyu. "What are you doing out here in the pouring rain?" Kouta asked her gently.

"She wanted to give you something." Ben started. "As a way of saying sorry." Ben asked Nyu to show Kouta the shell, to which she did. Kouta took it out of Nyu's hands and looked it over some more, after what seemed like a few minutes, Kouta put the umbrella down and hugged her. "I'm so sorry." He whispered. As he let go he took another look at the seashell and looekd back at Nyu. "Thank you Nyu." He said with a small smile.

"Nyu!" She said happily. Ben was staring with happiness in his eyes, he then got teh umbrella and got up. "Ok, now let's all get back to-"

**BAM**

Ben immediately landed face-first into the sand. Kouta and Nyu both looked shocked, Kouta was bout to do something, he was hi in the head by the butt of someone's gun, knocking him on the ground as well. Nyu was looking at them with worry as she was saying her name. As she was doing this, Bando and another solider was looking at her.

"Well holy shit." Bando smirked. "They were right, she does have horns growing out of her skull." Bando said with interest, Kouta looekd up and glared at them but Ben was still knocked out.

"Hey, you probably shouldn't get to close to her." The fellow solider told Bando, much to his annoyance.

"I thought I told you to shut up already." Bando said in an annoyed voice. Kouta got up and looked at the soldiers.

"What? Wha are you talking about? Who are you guys?" He asked concerningly, but Bando ignored him and was still smiling.

"Hey Sato, they gave us the green light to killing witnesses right?" Sato looked surprised.

"Wha-? They didn't give us those orders. They just told us to report to HQ."

Kouta's expression turned to fear. "Kill? What do you mean kill?" He asked as Nyu was still trying to get Ben up. Bando smirked as he pointed his gun at Kouta's head.

"What do you think dumbass? Kill. As in I pull the trigger and your brains go flying all over the sand." He said smirking. At this point, Ben immediately sprung up and hit the gun away.

"Let's get outta here!" Ben said as he and Kouta grabbed Nyu and tried to make a run for it. " _I can't activate my Omnitirix here with Kouta and Nyu witnessing._ " He thought. Dammit, this wasn't going to be good. At that point, they all heard gunshots ad stopped running.

"I'm on a hunt, and your girlfriends the prey." Bando called out. Ben and the others looked back as Bando was approaching them. Ben tried to make light of the situation.

"Well you see she isn't really my-"

**BAM**

"Oof." Ben doubled on the ground and he clutched his stomach in pain as he passed out.

"BEN!" Kouta called worriedly out as Bando approached him.

"Get out my way bastard." Bando sneered as he hit Kouta in the chest too with his gun, caught he boy to fall down next to Ben.

"Nyu!" Nyu called out worriedly as she kneeled and looked at the two boys with concern and fright. Bando then chuckled and pointed his gun at her.

"This is going to be fun." He sneered.

Yuka was walking along the streets trying to find the others. She just went to the police station to tell them about Nu, but then she remembered the seashell and so she changed her mind and started to walk to the beach instead. Yuka was worried, she was hoping that Nyu, Kouta, and Ben was alright. As she was walking along the sidewalk. She saw Kouta and Ben both lying in the sand and she immediately ran down.

"KOUTA! BEN!" Yuka called out as she ran over and kneeled down. "Kouta! Ben! Are you both alright?" She asked worriedly. Kouta weakly looked up at her and Ben was starting to stir, he got up groggily and saw her. "Just stay there, I'll go call an ambulance," Yuka said, as she was aobut to leave Kouta asked her where Nyu was.

Ben looked around and narrowed his eyes. " _Those soldiers took her._ " He balled his fists and he looekd down at Kouta, to see the boy fall unconscious. Prompting Yuka to run over to him. "Yuka!" Ben said. "Get Kouta to safety, I'm going to get Nyu back!" He was about to walk away but was stopped by Yuka.

"Wait, Ben, you're hurt." She said concerningly. But Ben was already to far gone to acknowledge her. Yuka sighed in frustration, but it faded as she turned back to Kouta as police lights shone over them.

Ben was currently following the footsteps of the soldiers who took Nyu, and the whole time, he was cursing at himself. Why didn't he go alien back there to save them? Why was he so nervous? "If I had known this would happen, I should have gone Big Chill and froze those guys and took off." He said to himself as he was still following the footprints.

Ben currently saw some soldiers standing around in some form of formation. "Nyu must be nearby if they are standing information like that." Ben said as he walked up to the guards, to which they held guns at him. "Easy, I don't want to fight, I just want my friend back please." Ben said as his hands were in the air, he saw a crate nearby and made a mental note to use it if things got outta hand.

"Listen, kid, you don't know what that girl is, so just go back home and forget about her." The solider said. Ben narrowed his eyes at him though.

"Sorry sir, but I can't let that happen." Bens said in defiance. The solider sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry to kid. FIRE!" He yelled as Ben quickly dodged rolled to the crate as teh bullets were going all at him.

"Here for one day and already I got people trying to kill me." Ben thought with annoyance. But now was not teh time to mpe, he had to get rid of these guys and rescue Nyu. Ben activated teh Omnitrix and was cycling through to find one that wouldn't be harmed by bullets. "Perfect!" Ben exclaimed as he slammed on the dial and was engulfed in green light.

The soldiers looked confused as the light faded away. In Ben's place was a humanoid pile of goo that was all green, had green eyes, and had a device resembling UFO hovering over his head, he also had teh Omnitrix symbol on his chest.

" **GOOP!** " The humanoid shouted. The soldiers looked both dumbfounded and shocked but had the same response.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"SHOOT HIM! HE IS A FREAK LIKE THEY ARE!" A solider yelled as they all tried firing bullets at Goop, but they didn't faze him and whatever piece of his body they hit, he simply regenerated them. "DAMN IT! WHY CAN'T WE HIT HIM!"

"Now it's time you all gooed down a bit." Goop punned as he fired some slime at them, and not only did they hit the soldiers, but also hit the guns as well.

"Men, keep firing, it's just slime!" A solider yelled, but unfortunatly when they tried to fire, nothing happened. "Why aren't you bastards shooting?" He yelled.

"Our guns are jammed and covered in this crap!" A solider yelled as he tried to pull the trigger. Goop smirked at them as they began to freak out. "Hurry and get them out, he might kill us!"

Goop sighed. "I am not going to hurt you guys." He said as he then pressed the dial on his chest and was engulfed into another green light, this time in Goops place was a small fairy-like creature with blue skin, fairy wings, and wore a green dress with black zigzag lines, white gloves, and was barefoot, he also had pink marks on his chin and cheeks.

"But Pesky Dust is going- _prrrr_ -to put you guys to sleep!" He said in a high-pitched feminine voice as he sprayed them with mysterious dust from his finger, which caught onto them.

"What is this stuff?" a solider asked, all of suddenly, he felt really drowsy. "And wh-why do I feel so sleepy..."

"Don-don't let that thi-thing get..." Then all of a sudden, the soldiers all fell right asleep. Pesky Dust smirked and pressed the Omnitrix dial and turned back into Ben.

"Ok, now that they are out of the way, I gotta find Nyu." Ben said concerningly.

"AAAAUGH!" Ben quickly turned to hear someone screaming in agony. Ben narrowed his eyes and ran off to find the source.

Ben finally arrived at teh scene where he saw a sight that shocked him. One of the soldiers that took Nyu was dead, with his chest having a large hole and his arm and HEAD cutoff too. Ben kneeled down and was shocked and horrified at this carnage.

"Who would do this?" Ben asked this. He then noticed some blood prints and decided to follow them. When he got there he saw that one solider guy, pinned on the ground and Nyu, standing over him. "Nyu!" Ben called out, just then Nyu slowly turned her head to face Ben, and when she did, those big eyes that showed innocence...now showed hatred and anger.

"Who are you?" She whispered hatefully, prompting Ben to back up a little bit.

( _Eyecatch of Lucy with both Kouta and Ben on her minds_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Fourarms scrubbing the walls with his four arms_ )

"It's me, Ben." He said in a calm matter. Did she do this? Ben wanted to know, and if she did do it, he wanted to know why. "Nyu, let-" But all of a sudden, something went by his head and he quickly dodged out of the way.

Nyu let go of Bando and was walking towards Ben. Ben backed up and activated the Omnitrix.

"Nyu...don't make me do this." He warned, but then something else came right by his head and he dodged that too. Ben was looking with confusion. How is she doing this? Telekinesis? Ben then activated his Omnitrix and cycled through the aliens, he wanted one that wouldn't hurt Nyu too much and wouldn't damage her. He saw one and slammed the dial and was engulfed in the green flash. Standing in Bens's place was a large humanoid crystal creature whose lower body, torso, and top of his head consisted of indigo crystal with black lines on it. There were six shards on his back, two shards on his chest, and had the Omnitrix symbol on his chest.

" **DIAMONDHEAD!** " He yelled out. Nyu's expression went from murderous to wide-eyed and shocked. "Nyu." Diamondhead spoke in a deep voice. "I don't know what is going on, but just stop all of this and let's go home." Hed said. Nyu's expression went back to being murderous.

"Make me..." She said as she then sent more things flying at him, to which Diamondhead fired several shards at them and shattered them on impact.

"Nyu, listen let's go back to the house, we can get Kouta and Yuka and ge-"

"What did you say?" She asked. Ben looked confused.

"Let's go back to-"

"What...name..did you say?.." She asked impatiently.

"Kouta and Yuka..." Diamondhead said in a confused way. Nyu's eyes began to widen.

" _I...I'm finally with Kouta...I escaped just to apologize...and now...I get the chance to._ " She thought as she was lost in her train of thought. She noticed something was in her hand and saw the seashell. When she saw it she went wide-eyed and then...she felt something in her head, and it was pain. Nyu was then screaming in pain as Diamondhead looked on in fright. He quickly turned back into Ben and ran over to her.

"Nyu! Ben called in a concerned tone. Nyu bent down on the ground and Ben took her into his arms and tried to calm her down. Nyu's cries then softened and stopped. Ben let go and the girl looked up at him.

"Nyu?" She said. Ben was confused and concerned. A few minutes ago she wanted to kill him, now she is back to being like a toddler? Something wasn't right and he was going to find out what. But at that moment he saw Bando on the ground.

"Excuse me sir!" Ben said. "Do you nee-"

"WHERE ARE YOU?" Bando yelled out, startling Ben and Nyu. "COME OUT AND FIGHT ME, YOU BITCH! I SWEAR I'LL FIND YOU!" Bando was still shouting out ex0lesives that caused Nyu to dig her head behind Ben's back in fright.

Ben got his Omnitrix out to find that it was recharging. " _Damn..now of all things? I was going to use Clockwork to possibly fix his arm...I guess that is out of the question.._ " Ben thought with sadness and remorse. Ben looekd back on Bando. "Don't worry sir, I'll go call an ambulance!" Ben said as he grabbed Nyu by the hand and they took off running, not noticing a little girl in a yellow sweater carrying a dog by them.

* * *

_Kamakura Streets_

Ben was currently at a phone booth, with Nyu with him. Since he was worried that her horns might attract attention, he used his jacket to cover her head, prompting her to look confused and giggle at it.

"Ok yeah. At the beach, by some crates...You will? Great thanks!" Ben said as he hung up the phone. He made a call to the cops about Bando at the beach and also about the dead guy. He wasn't concerned about the soldiers he put to sleep because he knew they would be alright. He sighed in relief and looekd over at Nyu again.

"But still. That doesn't explain things...how did she do that though? And why did she go from nice and cute to scary and murderous?" Ben was asking himself. It just wasn't making any sense, he wanted to know why. Ben then thought about Kouta and Yuka and he grabbed Nyu's hand and they proceeded to walk home.

They were both silents as they were waling back, with Ben still having those images in his head...something was not right. As he was thinking, he felt something leaning against his body and when he saw who it was he blushed a littel bit. Nyu's head was on his shoulder and she was holding his arm tightly as she leaned closer to him. Ben saw this and was blushing a little bit.

"Uh, Nyu?" Ben asked, but Nyu just cooed sleepily, he smiled a little bit and he patted her head. " _So adorable, but still, after tonight I am going to scan her to see if she is an alien."_ He thought. At that point, he saw that Maple Inn was up ahead and he tapped Nyu _on_ the cheek slightly to wake her up. "Nyu," Ben whispered. "We're almost home." He said. Nyu simply just cooed and her grip on Ben's arm tightened, he sighed and they continued walking.

When they got up pt the entrance, they saw Kota, now with a bandage on his head and he looekd relieved. "There you guys are!" Kout said. "I was worried about you." Kouta said. Nyu woke up and when she saw Kouta she let go of Ben and she hugged him. Ben saw this and felt something...was it jealousy? He shook those feelings away however and they all went inside

* * *

_Maple Inn_

The three were now inside and sitting in the dining room. Ben looekd around and was confused.

"Hey Kouta, wheres Yuka?" He asked.

"Oh, Yuka went home." He simply said. Ben was confused, but then remembered that Kouta was the only one living here so it made some sense. "So what did those guys want with Nyu?" He asked. Ben was curious as well. Why DID they want her? Her horns maybe? Kouta looekd back at Nyu, who was looking at him. "Well, not like she can say anything though," Kouta said as he turned to face Nyu. "But I made up my mind, I'm not going to let them take you away, no matter what."

Ben smiled at Kouta's decision. "Same here, I don't know what exactly is going on, but I'll help you protect her." Ben said with Kouta smiling at him and nodding. Kouta then got out a shirt and showed it to Nyu.

"Alright, now change into this Nyu." Kouta told her, but Nyu just looked confused. Kouta sighed and shook his head. "It's fine, guess I'll have-hey Ben?" Kouta asked with a sheepish look on his face.

"What?" Ben dreaded, knowing that face and whatever question it was, it wouldn't be good.

"You think you can help me change Nyu?"

Ben's jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes went wide as saucers. Him? Changing? A full-grown GIRL? Ben sighed and relented, after all, he couldn't let a friend down. He saw that Kouta was blushing like crazy, and took a look what Kout was blushing t, when he saw, Nyu's shirt was wet from the rain and it caused him to see her breasts, this prompted Ben to blush madly and hold his nose with his hands, trying to to get a nosebleed.

"Ok...lets' do this." Ben said confidently with Kouta nodding in agreement.

The next few minutes...were kind of awkward, first, they had to get her shirt off, but that wasn't easy because the two boys had their eyes closed the whole time. Now they were on the ground looking for teh yellow shirt, with Nyu watching in a mix of confusion and amusement. Kouta thankfully got the shirt and had Nyu hold out her arms, to which the girl did. Kouta then handed Ben the shirt and Ben was getting on her, but then he accidentally touched her chest and he backed away in fright.

"Ohjeezei'msosorry!" Ben frantically said he jumped back. Nyu didn't seem to mind as she was happily poking her chest. The shirt was done, and now...the underwear... Kouta's eyes were still closed and Ben was just trying to look away to the window, with his blush still present.

"Ok...this is the big one!" Kouta said as he was trembling and holding Nyu's legs, Nyu on her back, looking confused. "Ok..now try not to panic..." Kouta said as he finally got he underwear off. "GOT IT!" He said. Ben sighed in relief, but then felt a familiar angry presence. He turned to see that Yuka had walked in on them and all the color that was in Ben's face immediately drained.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

Kurama was walking in the halls along with his Deputy Director Shirakawa.

"So they failed?" Kurama asked.

"Yes," Shirakawa said. "One of the soldiers said that they failed to capture Lucy, but we do know that she washed ashore, but failed to track her down." She said. Kurama simply sighed as they continued walking. "Also they said something else...apparently there was a boy...who transformed." She said. Kurama looked at her with a questionable gaze. "Yes, they said he transformed into a humanoid pile of goo, and a fairy...although I think they might have been crazy so I ignored it."

"Yea, a good thing." Kurama said, although...he himself was wondering aobut that the soldiers said. But he brushed those aside for now as they came across a door with the number '7' on it. "I doubt she will hide for long, with how gifted at killing she is."

"Yea...although, I hope we don't have to use Number Seven." She said although the look she gave showed some remorse and regret. They all entered the room and saw through the glass.

"So, what's her condition?" Kuramama asked.

In the room over..there was a girl: possibly a preteen, with pink hair, and the same horns that Lucy had, but her hair was much shorter though, she was chained to the wall and had blood going all down her nude body. The girl looekd up as tears showed at her pink eyes.

"Papa?" She said weakly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that is that everyone. So for Nana, I was wondering whether I should keep her hair like it was in the manga or pink like the anime, I decided to go with the latter because I thought it made her look cuter with it. Also, Don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys, and I am always happy to answer any questions you might have for me :) See you all soon :)


	3. Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, ready for more Ultimate Lied? now as we all remember Ben had encountered Nyu's darker alter-pego, Lucy, for the first time, and it won't be the last either. I have been deciding whether or not I should add more Ben 10 characters in or not, and if I want to I will, but not till much later in the story, along with Ben 10 villains. Like I said I will think these over for the time being and decide whether or not.
> 
> Ben 10 Belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekley Young Jump, and the Anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

Ben was laying down in his bead replaying the events of the night, and well...it was really bizarre, first, he fought with some soldiers, then he encountered NYu...only she acted more hostile in the manner, what happened to Nyu? Why did sh each like that, and more importantly HOW and WHY did she hurt those two guys? He wanted to know. Then there was when they got back to Maple Inn, where...awkwardness transpired. Yuka walked in on Kouta changing Nyu's underpants and Yuka acted like nothing happened. When Kouta tried to go explain. Ben had to finish the job, much to him embarrassment, with Nyu giggling. And Ben had to cover his nose in order to not get a nosebleed.

Ben was now jus ton the bed looking exhausted. "Well, tonight was...interesting to say the least...still I got to scan Nyu to see what she is." He said, he quickly got up and tiptoed out of his room, he snuck through teh halls and walked silently into Nyu's room, she looked so cute as she was sleeping, all curled up in her comforter, this caused Ben to blush a little bit, but immediately shake it off and crawled over to her.

"Sorry Nyu, just want to make sure." He whispered as he activated teh Omnitrix and started to scan her, a bright light started to scan her from up and down, when the light went over her eyes, Nyu stirred a little bit, prompting Ben to wince a littel bit.

"Nyu..." Nyu cooed in her sleep. Ben sighed in relief as the Omnitrix stopped scanning.

" _Unknown DNA sample acquired: Scan complete._ " The Omnitrix said as it stopped scanning. Ben sighed in relief but was confused as teh Omnitrix didn't recognize teh DNA sample, but he finally knew that Nyu was not human, so what WAS she? As he was about to head back to his room, he heard something. When he turned around he saw Nyu smiling.

"Ben...Ben..." Nyu cooed in her sleep. Ben was blushing crazily as he left.

"Phew, that was close..." Ben said wiping his forehead, as he went back to his room, he came across a familiar sight that startled him. On his floor was a middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat over a white shirt with a brown vest and a tie, black pants and shoes, and also had green goggles around his neck. "Professor Paradox?"

"Oh, Ben my boy." The professor said happily as he had a paper bag with him. "Care for a gumball?"

"Uh, maybe later..." Ben sweatdropped, what is it with this guy and gumballs? "Anyway, you mind telling me what kind of world I am on?" Ben asked.

"I can but I only have a littel bit of time to be here. Where you are is in an alternate version of Kamakura, Japan that is different from our own."

" _That would explain why Kouta or Yuka didn't go fanboy or fangirl on me when they saw me for the first time._ " Ben thought.

"In this world, there is a species of mutants called the Diclonius, and their goa-" but then Professor Paradox suddenly disappeared. Prompting Ben to faceful.

" _Now? Of all times?!_ " He thought, he simply sighed and laid back down, now he knew what kind of species inhabit this world...could Nyu be a Diclonius? He shrugged all of this and started to fall asleep, hopefully, the professor will come back eventually and give Ben the full story.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

Kurama was standing in front of Nana, as the girl was released from her chains.

"There's a person I need you to kill Nana, a Diclonius just like you." Kurama told her. Nanan looekd up with eyes widened. "Diclonius have a natural ability to sense each other, only you can find her Nana."

Nana's big pink eyes simmered. "I-I think I can find her...but I don't think I can kill her thought." She said sadly.

"Locate her then, I will arrange for you to contact me when you found her." He told her.

"Papa? Did this person...make trouble for you? Did they hurt you?" Kurama trembled a bit at this and nodded his head.

"Yes she did, and only you can help me." He told her.

Nana put her hands to her eyes and started to cry in happiness that her papa was trusting her with a mission. "I won't let you down Papa!" Nana said gleefully, Kurama nodded his head and walked out.

"You have a day," He told a scientist. "Get her ready for combat." He said he and Shirakawa walked out, with the woman having a questionable look on her face.

"Director...why didn't you tell her about the boy?" Kurama looekd at her puzzled.

"You believe those soldiers?"

"Well, I mean they seemed pretty hysterical when we found them...so..." Shirakawa started off, looking rather embarrassed. "Your right, nevermind." She said.

Kurama looked on ahead, to be fair, he too was wondering if these soldiers were telling the truth or not aobut a shape-shifting boy...only time will tell...

* * *

_Maple Inn_

The next day. Kouta was not feeling too well, mostly because of the storm that happened the other night, so Ben and Nyu had to look after him. Ben took the thermometer out of Kouta's mouth and check it.

"39 degrees," Ben said. "Hmm, you're running a fever buddy, best you stay in bed for the time being."

"Crap..." Kouta said. Nyu looked worried, but Kouta gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey I'll be alright, as long as I remain in bed, I will be fine, you should worry about putting on some underwear though."

Ben was confused to see that she was in fact NOT wearing underwear, prompting him to blush and hold his nose so blood wouldn't come out. " _WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN!?_ " He yelled in his mind as he then face-palmed himself and sighed. this was going to be a long day...Nyu was currently freaking out over Kouta's heavy breathing, and he looked up at her.

"Do you think you can get me some water?" He asked Nyu, prompting the girl to look confused. "Oh that's right, she can't understand us." He said.

"Wa-ter?" The girl asked, prompting the boy's eyes to widen.

"Yes! Water! Can you get him some water Nyu?" Ben asked holding her hands. She looked down at his hands and blushed a littel bit, before suddenly looking back in his eyes and nodding, she then left the room. After a few minutes, the boys heard some crashing and nose breaking, prompting them to become a little bit nervous. Nyu then ran back in with a smile on her face and holding out a slipper. Ben was trying not to laugh because it was cute, and Kouta just smiled at her.

"Thanks, it's the thought that counts anyway." Kouta said. Ben sighed and grabbed Nyu by the hand.

"C'mon Nyu, let me show you." He said as he led Nyu to the kitchen. Ben was grabbing a cup and filling it with water, much to Nyu's curiosity. "This is water, Nyu."Ben said as he was showing her the glass, Nyu was looking with intrigued eyes.

"Water?" She asked.

"Yep." Ben said with a smile. "Go bring this to Kouta ok?" Nyu smiled and nodded as she ran back to Kouta's room, Ben saw her running and had a smile on her face. " _She is so cute, the way she runs, her lovely pink hair, her lovely face, and her-AH STOP IT BEN!_ " He thought pounding himself in the head. " _You shouldn't be thinking these feelings, your still not ready, especially after breaking up with Julie._ " Ben sighed as he saw a familiar shadow at teh door. He went over to see Yuka standing on the other side.

"Hey, Ben," Yuka said with a smile. "Where's Kouta and Nyu?"

"Kouta isn't feeling too good, so he is in bed, and I sent Nyu to give him some water." He said as Yuka became worried and went into the house, with Ben noticing that she dropped her bag, he grabbed it and brought it in. He then went back to Kouta's room to find Yuka placing a warm washcloth on Kouta's head.

"You look very sick Kouta, you should go to the hospital," Yuka said concerningly. But Kouta shook his head.

"No, please, I'm not going to a hospital." He said.

Yuka looked at him with some disappointment. "Kouta..." She said.

"Hey Yuka," Kouta began. "Yesterday, you mentioned the festival." Yuka tried to explain that it was nothing, but Kouta ignored her and began to explain. "It's' just that...I can't remember much about it, not after the time where we said goodbye to each other. After I left, my dad died in a car accident."

"What?" Yuka and Ben said, shocked.

"It wasn't long afterward that Kanae started getting sick. It was just one terrible thing after another, I wonder if that the reason why-" But he was soon cut off from YUka, who was crying a little bit. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"It was on that day...you, your dad, and little Kanae...I stood there and watched you get on that train." She said. Kouta and Ben couldn't hear her and when they asked aobut it, she denied it and went to go get some more water. Ben meanwhile was looking at Kout with sympathy, he lost both his father and sister, that would be rough on anybody...Ben looked at him with sadness.

* * *

_Dicloniuys Institute/Medical Room_

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Bando yelled out in rage. He was on a hospital bed with bandages wrapped around his arms, that were cut off, with Kurama looking at him. "YOU'RE GOING TO CASTARATE ME YOU BASTARD? HAVEN'T I HAD ENOUGH cUT OFF ALREADY?!" Bando yelled in fury. Kurama, however, was not affected by Bando's words.

"I do sympathize with you Bando, but if you do not do this operation, you are going to die right on that table." Kurama calmly told him, that however did nothing to calm the angry hitman down.

"The hell you talking to me?! I already nearly died already, and now you're telling me this bullshit?!"

Kurama still looked at him. "The fate of mankind depends on it."

That's when Bando totally lost it. "ARE TOU FREAKING STUPID?!" He yelled as the IV dropped and shattered to the ground. "WHAT THE HELL DOES MY BALLS HAVE TO DO WITH THE FATE OF MANKIND?! Oh but wait. You better tell me, WHO THE HELL WAS THAT LITTLE BITCH WITH THE HORNS COMING OUT OF EHR SKULL?! AND THOSE HANDS?!" Bando hen calmed down a little bit and asked how she was able to beat him. Kurama walked over to a screen.

"Her kind is called Diclonius." He said, with Bando repeating the name in confusion. "A genetically altered human: a mutant." He said as he then showed a screen of a Diclonius skull, with the horns out. "As you know, the mutation in the Diclonius causes them to grow a pair of protrusions out of their skull. But the crucial and notable mutation...is the hands you had encountered."

"Your freaking kidding right?" Bando asked, not fully believing this. "You're telling me that she was born with those things?"

"Those hands are called Vectors, we do not know how much they develop, but we do know that they possess extraordinary speed and can vibrate at a high frequency that they can cut through any object, like stone or iron. But we don't think that is their main usage, however."

"What do you mean?" Bando asked.

"In the past, individuals who had this mutation had died in infancy or couldn't reproduce, but your target is exceptionally adaptable. Once she started to develop, we expected some certain things of her, like the mastery of her vectors, but now...she has found a way to reproduce, different from the normal human way."

"What the hella re you telling me?" Bando asked as Kuramam was walking up behind him.

"She uses her Vectors to spread a genetic infection." Bando looked dup in surprise. "Her genetic feature depends entirely on...the end of mankind as we know it..."

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Kouta was sleeping in his room, when he started string about, he opened his eyes partway to see Yuka staring aright at him, causing him to jump back a little bit in surprise.

"Feeling better Kouta?" Yuka asked. With Kouta nodding.

"Yea, I am feeling a little better." He said. Yuka then placed her hand on his forehead and got close to him, close enough to their noses touch, and this prompted Kouta to blush a littel bit.

"Your fever looks like it is all gone." Yuka said. Kouta looked around a little bit and asked where Nyu was at. But they then turned to see that Nyu entered the room. She was wearing a pink shirt with a red tanktop over it, a yellow skirt, and a green hat. She smiled at him.

"I dressed her up in some of my clothing," Yuka said. Kouta smiled and blushed a little bit at Nyu, which luckily did not get noticed by Yuka.

"Where's Ben?"

"He went out to transfer his money." She said.

* * *

_Kamakura streets_

Ben was walking back from the bank. He was able to transfer some of his money for some Yen, hopefully, this should last him a while. As he was walking down the street, he saw some woman in an alley being assaulted by a group of guys. Ben would not alloy thins and activated teh Omnitrix.

"Leave me alone please!" The woman said, but the large brute hit her hard int he mouth.

"Shut up bitch!" He said as he pulled out a gun, with his goon watching in amusement. "This is going to be fun." As he was about to pull the trigger. He was suddenly punched in the face and was sent flying back into the wall, everyone saw this and turned to what hit him, what they saw was a large red man that was wearing a green T-shirt with black lines going down his arms and shoulder sleeves, he also wore black pant's and white fingerless gloves, he also had four eyes and the most shocking thing of all? FOUR MUSCULAR ARMS!

"You know it isn't polite to hurt a lady, chumps?" The large man said in anger.

"What the...?" One of them said in fright.

"Don't stand there you fools, kill him!" One of the guys tried to hit him with his baseball bat, but it shattered right on impact, the large man looked down and was not impressed.

"Like THAT can do anything." He said sarcastically as he gave the guy a good punch to the head, hard enough to knock out, but not hard enough to kill. He turned to the frightened woman. "You might want to leave now ma'am." He didn't have to tell her twice as she ran right out of there immediately.

"DIE MONSTER!" A guy came up to stab the large man, but he simply grabbed the goon and started using him like a ragdoll and hit the other goons in the faces, knocking them all out.

"Never mess with Four Arms." He said at them. Four arms touche the Omnitrix symbol at the center of his chest and in a bright flash, he turned into a monkey-like alien whos fur was all blue and had two pairs of green eyes, two legs. four arms had three fingers on his hands and three toes on his feet and had a dark blue center and a tail with two striped near the tip, the Omnitrix symbol was also on his chest.

" **SPIDERMONKEY!** " He yelled, he then shot some webbing out of his tail and on to the goons and made a little cocoon and left a note for the police. "Little Christmas gift for the cops." Spidermonkey said as he then climbed up to the roof of the place and looked out onto the city. "This is a nice place...still I am still curious about Nyu however, hopefully, Paradox will come again to tell me more." Spidermonkey got off the roof, tuned back into Ben and started walking back to Maple Inn.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben got back to the Inn and opened up the door, he took his shoes off and got his jacket off as well.

" _Wonder where everyone one is._ " He thought, at that point, Nyu saw him and ran over to him.

"NYU!" She yelled as she happily hugged him. Ben was startled and hug her back with a smile.

"I was only gone for a while Nyu." He said, as he was looking at her new look he couldn't help but blush a little bit. "You look..very nice." He said while rubbing his head sheepishly, causing Nyu to giggle. She then took his hand and into the hall, where Kouta was scrubbing.

"Oh Ben, you think you can help us with scrubbing the floor?" Kouta asked.

"Sure thing." Ben said as he grabbed a rag and started to wipe it, with Nyu scrubbing next to Ben. "So where's Yuka?"

"She went out shopping." He simply said. Ben looked confused and then just shrugged as he continued scrubbing, with NYu scrubbing next to him, he saw that she was looking at him and was confused. "You ok Nyu?"

Nyu's eyes widened and quickly went back to scrubbing, while a blush on her face appearing, luckily Ben didn't notice. Then there was the noise of a door opening.

"I'll go see who it is." Ben said, with Nyu following him. When they got to the door there was a girl in a yellow sweater, wore brown shows and had a small dog right next to her and was carrying an umbrella.

"I'm sorry for bothering you.." She said nervously. "It's just, at the beach I-"

"Who is it?" Kouta asked. He went tot eh dorr to spot the girl, who held up the umbrella.

"I'm sorry, but I found this umbrella on the beach. And the name of this restaurant was written on the handle." She said timidly as she held up the umbrella, Kouta went over and took the umbrella back.

"Thanks for bringing it back." Kouta said with a smile, which the girl retuned.

"I found it in the harbor the night before actually." This prompted Kouta to look at her surprised.

"The night before?! Tell me, do you remember seeing anyone else that night?"

The girl looked nervous and Ben was aobut to step in to calm him down before she started talking. "Well...there was this man who looked like a solider."

Ben's eyes went wide, so she was there that night when he encountered those soldiers. But why didn't he see her? He left so quickly with Nyu that he didn't recognize her...did she see him transform? Let's hope not. His thoughts were stopped by Kouta asking the girl to come in and answer some questions real quick, with the girl nervously and reluctantly agreeing while she tied up her dog.

Ben was standing by the door listening to Ben and the girl's conversation. Ben was grateful that she saved that man's life and called the ambulance, so he felt good knowing that he wasn't dead, but he was still curious about if she saw him transform or not...At that point, Yuka walked right in the door.

"Welcome back." Ben said smiling, but when he saw her face at Kouta, he became nervous. "I'll just..go see what Nyu is up to." He said as he quickly zipped past her. He then noticed that Nyu was still scrubbing the floor, and then she came across a music box, to which she got and was inspecting it.

"That looks nice." Ben said as he walked up to her. He took teh box from her and he looked at it. "Must be an antique or something." Nyu took the box back and was aobut to walk with it until she slipped on the still-wet floor.

"NYU!" She yelped as she fell on her back.

"Nyu!" Ben called out worriedly as he tried to get her, up, but she wasn't budging, he listened to her heartbeat and saw that she was breathing, at that point the others came out to see what was wrong.

"Ben, what happened?" Yuka asked.

"Nyu just slipped on the water, she will be fine though." He said, he then saw Nyu getting up slowly, but it wasn't the normal posture he was familiar with, it looked like she was slouching, but unknown to her, her face had a dark expression. He felt teh familiar presence that night and backed up cautiously.

"She dropped the music box!" Yuka gasped. Nyu then suddenly stood before and launched her vectors, but after she saw Kouta, her eye went wide and her arms disappeared.

"Kouta..." She whispered, when she saw Ben, her eyes widened as well and blushed, to which she quickly shook her head away. " _Wh-why am I feeling something..for that human?_ " She thought in disgust as she then walked away out of the house, prompting Kouta to follow her.

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben drinking a smoothie_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Nyu sleeping cutely_ )

_Maple Inn_

After a few minutes, Nyu had walked out to everyone's confusion, but to Ben, he was really curious he felt that familiar presence that night at teh beach and he was both curious and worried as well. He overheard Kouta and Yuka talking about the music box and if he remembered teh melody.

"This melody is so beautiful." the girl said with a smile. Kouta then shut the door on it.

"I have been meaning to give it back to you." Yuka said. Last time you were here, you left it at my house." Yuka said with a smile, Kouta looekd at her with a confused look prompting Yuka to frown a bit. Ben recognized this and sighed. She totally forgot that he can't remember that much aobut his childhood, then they all hear the dog barking.

"Is that pup yours out there?" Ben asked teh girl, who smiled at him a littel bit.

"Kinda, he is more like a friend than a pet." She said.

"Hmm?" Ben asked with an eyebrow raised. Prompting the girl to blush a littel bit.

"I don't own him, but we are always together, so I guess we are frineds."

Ben smiled and ruffled her hair. "If you two are always together than that DOES make you guys friends." He said with a smile, prompting the girl to blush at his kindness and she brushed his hand off of her hair. Ben then still looked concerned. "Should we worry aobut Nyu? going off by herself?"

"Wells he didn't have any problems finding this place the last time." Kouta said.

"Because I was with her." Ben said sweatdropping.

"Anyway, her horns are covered up." Kouta said. Ben's eye widened. Kout mentioned the horns...in front of someone they barley KNOW...

"What? Horns?" The girl asked before Yuka and Ben laughed nervously and told her it was nothing. They all walked to the door, with Ben still nervous.

"Hey, you never told us your name." Ben said as a matter of factly, prompting the girl to look at them and blush.

"Mayu...my names Mayu.." She said.

"My name is Ben, Ben Tennyson. That's Kouta and his cousin Mayu" Ben said with a smile holding out his hand, Mayu looked in confusion.

"He's from America." Yuka told her, prompting Mayu to blush and nodded before taking his hand. Ben felt that she was trembling and frowned, did he do something wrong?

"Hey, Mayu," Kouta said. You mind if you eft your name and address, you know..jsut in case I want to ask you some more questions about that night or something?"

"Well..uhh." Ben saw that she was trembling alot and that she looked like she was about to cry. What happened? Bad home? Ben was going to find out what it was. "I gotta go!" She quickly said as she stepped outside the door.

The three teens went back to the dining room and sat in silence for a while.

"Nyu's been gone for a while." Kouta said. Ben nodded and grabbed his jacket.

"I'm going to go look for her, to make sure she is alright." Ben said. Kouta got up.

"I'll go with you Ben." Ben nodded and as he was about to go, he saw Yuka sitting and frowning.

"What's wrong Yuka?" Ben asked concerningly. Kouta sat back down and told Ben to go on without him and that he will catch up. Ben nodded and headed out the door.

He looked around to see that Mayu and her dog were not around so he got out his Omnitrix and was clicking through the aliens. "Because it is daytime, people will see me...here we go!" He slammed on the dial and was engulfed in a bright flash. Standing in his place was a phantom/ghost-like alien that had gray skin with black lines running on him, claw-like hands, and had a green eye with a black pupil, he also had teh Omnitrix symbol on his chest.

" **GHOSTFREAK!** " He yelled in a deep raspy voice as he took to the sky. "Gotta look for Nyu, hopefully, she hasn't gone too far, and hopefully not in trouble neither." As he was flying, he saw her sitting on a bunch of steps, and behind her was a girl who looked aorund Mayu's age, she was wearing a black dress, and also had pink hair like Nyu's but much shorter,r and she had a ribbon in her hair. Ghostfreak saw this and sweatdropepd.

"Not good." He said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that is that everyone, so as you know I kinda mixed For Arms appearance a little bit because his original series form was better, so I mixed in Ben's current outfit to For Arms original outfit. Also so now we are feeling some feelings developing between Ben and Nyu..but why about Lucy? Only time can tell. Don't get to read and review, I am always happy the hear from you guys and happy to answer questions you to have. See you all next time :)


	4. Battle in the Graveyard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I have returned with a new chapter. So what are you all thinking so far? Am I keeping the characters in check? Just wanting to know, this is the first time I am writing a fanfiction story with Ben 10 and Elfen Lied characters. So who was that strange girl with Nyu? Will Ben get some answers? LEt's find out on this crazy chapter of Ultimate Lied.
> 
> Ben 10 Belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekley Young Jump, and the Anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Stairs_

Ghostfreak was staring at the exchange of the two girls with some interest. Who was that other girl? And what is her connection with Nyu?

"There's no use running away." The girl said as she put down a paper bag. "I already told then that I found you, they know you are here." She said. Ghostfreak turned invisible and floated to see what was inside the bag, what he saw was a walkie talkie, and figured that she called someone to tell them that Nyu was here, and he was worried. Nyu then suddenly got up and the girl just looked on.

"So what are you going to do next? Kill me as well?" Ghostfreaks's eye widened with worry and shock, in his mind, he was chastising the girl and asking what she was doing.

"So far, I haven't been forced to kill someone of our species." Nyu said.

"Our species?" Nana asked confused. Ghostfreak was confused as well a bit, he did get her DNA, but it was unknown, then Professor Paradox told him about a Diclonius...could these two be Diclonius? At that point, Nyu started walking down the stairs and the girl started to follow her. "Listen, they won't let me go back home unless I ta-" But then she suddenly stopped, prompting Ghostfreak to look both surprised and worried.

"Stand still," Nyu said. "It's as easy to move an artery in your brain, even my lightest touch can kill you." She said, this prompted Ghostfreak to look more confused, just what kind of powers does Nyu have? And why was she acting like this? It wasn't her to act like this at all. "Go home..." She said as she started to walk back down the stairs, as she was going down, the other girl called back to her, prompting Nyu to look annoyed and the girl was slammed into the wall. Prompting Ghostface to look shocked.

"I was going to let you go...since there aren't many of us out here," Nu said dangerously. "But you are seriously starting to become a pain in the ass." She said. The girl started to get up and Ghostface made himself known.

"Stop this Nyu." He said. Nyu looked at him with dangerous, yet shocked wide eyes, and the other girl looked with her eyes becoming wide as well.

"Who the hell are you?" Nyu asked dangerously.

"It's Ben..remember?" He said as he then tapped on the Omnitrix dial and in bright light, he turned back into Ben, startling the other girl behind him.

"Ho-how did you do that?" the girl asked with curiosity and surprise in her voice. Ben turned around sheepishly and rubbed his head.

"Kind of a long story." He said, but then he suddenly felt something go right by his cheek, he turned back to Nyu, who looked at him dangerously.

"It was you, that boy from the beach...why are you here?"

"I am here to help you Nyu, I don't know what you are doing this or acting like this...but there has to be a reason, please let me help." Ben pleaded

When Nyu looked into his eyes, she saw sincerity, just like Kouta's. "He means it, just like Kouta..."

" _Don't listen to him._ " A sinister voice said in her head. " _He is a human, just like the rest, they deserve to die._ " Nyu's hands gripped tightly as she then reluctantly nodded.

She looekd up to Ben's eyes and had a small sad look on her face. "I'm sorry.." She said, as she unleashed her vectors, to which Ben didn't see, but luckily the girl behind him saw them and immediately shielded him. She then got in front of him.

"I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT PAIN IS!" She yelled as she sent Nyu flying to a nearby graveyard. Ben was shocked and turned to her.

"What is going on?!" He said loudly. He couldn't take it anymore and wanted to know the truth. The girl looked at him and gave him a small frown.

"You seem like a nice person, but that girl...she isn't what you think she is..." The girl said. Ben gripped his fists.

"I know..sorta, she went like that on me two nights ago...I just want to know why..." He said, but at that moment, the girl then flew to the direction where Nyu went off to. "I have to stop this before it gets out of hand." He said as he began to run.

* * *

_Graveyard_

Ben ran to the graveyard and saw that Nyu and that one girl were already starting to fight. Nyu was laying on a gravestone as she was in a pose that looked like she was choking, with the other girl staring down at her.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you." The girl said. "But I will teach you a lesson, for my Papa." She said. Ben could not take this and walked calmly in the fray, and activated his Omnitrix, prompting the two pink-haired girls to look at him.

"I am putting a stop to this." He calmly said as he slammed on the dial and a light flashed. When it vanished, standing in Ben's place was a brownish-green humanoid plant-like alien with five vine-like legs, four long fingers on his hands, and flaps that were shaped like flytraps covering his head. He also had some pods on his back and he had three green eyes, one single on his shoulders, and one on the middle of his face, he also had the Omnitrix symbol on his chest.

" **WILDVINE!** " He yelled, he looked at himself and groaned. "I was hoping to go Spidermonkey, but this should work too I guess. " He spoke in an aged, gravelly voice. The two girls were distracted for a moment to see this in astonishment, the boy that was there a few seconds ago was now a plant creature. Nyu used this distraction to grab some stones and launch them at the one girl, but Wildvine quickly saw this and used his fingers to grow into long vines and slash the stones away.

* * *

_Kamakura Bakery_

Mayu was insides the local bakery, she was at the counter and asking the lady for some bread crumbs.

"They aren't for me, they are for my friend, you know how dogs are." She said nervously, the lady at teh counter looekd at her carefully.

"Hry, how old are you?" She asked kindly.

"I am thirteen years old, I'll be fourteen tomorrow." Mayu said, she looked at the bag, then at Wanta, then at the lady. "Well thank you." She said as she walked out, with the lady looking on in concern. As Mayu was walking out, she saw Yuka.

" _That's that girl from earlier._ " She thought. Yuka saw her too and her eyes widened.

"Hey, your that girl from-" But she then saw teh bag of bread crusts in Mayu's hands. Mayu noticed and quickly hid them behind her back

"Ok...well see you later!" Mayu said as she quickly walked away with Wanta following her, Yuka looekd over at the bakery and back at Mayu with a face of concern. She then went inside the bakery.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Yuka said top teh lady at the counter. " the girl who just left, do you know her?"

"Not really, she comes in here every day though. But she is always wearing the same clothes, so people in the shop think she is homeless." This caught Yuka by surprise

* * *

_Graveyard_

The two Diclonius and the Florauna were staring at each other.

"Why are you still here?" the girl asked urgently. "You might get hurt." Wildvine smirked at her.

"Don't worry, I got other forms that can survive anything she throws at me." He said. then he looekd back at Nyu, who was still staring. "Nyu, I do not want to fight you, but I will if you don't stop this." He said. Nyu smirked and launched her vectors, prompting them to cut into Wildvine in half, the humanoid fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless, with the one girl looking horrified.

"NO!" She yelled as she ran over and got on her knees as tears came out of her eyes. Nyu simply smirked.

"So much for that foolish human." She said, but then she saw something she didn't expect. The vines around started to move and merge, and Wildvine began to regrow, much to the shock fo the two girls. Nyu was both shocked and angered at this but still surprised, while the other girl looekd both shocked and happy. Wildvine turned towards her.

"What's your name squirt?" Wildvine asked.

"Nana, my name is Nana." She said. Wildvine smiled.

"Ok, listen, Nana, I do not know the history between you two. But I can't let her leave, she...is my friend." He said, but then he was interrupted by a stone being launched at him, to which he slashed with his vines. Wildvine then launched his arms at her and tried to tangle her up, but she quickly cut up his arms. He jumped back as Nana sent her vectors at Nyu again.

"Here we go again!" Nana said. "Because you insist on fighting!" Stones were sent at her again, and then it erupted in a small explosion. Nyu smirked but then scowled as Nana was alright.

"You seem to be comfortable with that experimental equipment of yours." She said. Nana then brushed herself off.

"I got all dressed up to face you!" Nana said as she sent some of her vectors at NYu, who dodged them. Nana went into the air to see where she went but to her shock. Nyu was right there and was punched in the gut, causing her to fall. Nyu then gracefully went back on the ground with her feet touching the ground. She then was then grabbed by some vines that popped from the ground and wrapped around her ankles, she turned and glared at Wildvine.

"Stop this Nyu!" Wildvine said NYu then got angry at him

"Stop calling me that!" She said loudly. Nana started to walk towards her.

"STOP FIGHTING!" Wildvine tuned to see that Mayu was running up to them and was surprised.

"Mayu? What is she doing here?" He asked he failed to notice that his roots untangled from Nyu, and she then delivered a solid Vector punch right to his face, prompting him to skid back. Nana looekd in shock, but then Nyuu immediately flashed a wicked grin and cut off Nana's fingers with her vectors, with the young girl looking surprised as then, her left leg was cut clean off. Prompting Nana to fall over.

Mayu looked don in horror as Nyu then sent Mayu flying into a tree. Nyu then tuned back to Nana, who was looking up at her in defiance, even with tears of pain in her eyes, she was still acting tough.

"I am not scared of you! It doesn't hurt at all!" At that point, Nana's entire right arm was torn off, causing her to cry in pain, and then that is when she was trying to crawl away, knoweth that she was not able to take on Nyu. Nyu then looked down and gave her a cold look.

"Does it hurt now?" She asked as she then removed Nana's remaining arm and leg, prompting the young girl to fall back and look up with tears in her eyes. Nyu looked at her with the same look. "I am going to put an end to yo-"

" **STOP!** " Yelled a booming voice nearby, Nyu turned to see that Wildvine was already up, and he was looking very pissed. "Nyu...I do not know why you are doing this...but I am stopping you right now!" He said. Nyu smirked and faced him.

"Good luck you pathetic creature! She yelled as she sent her vectors at him, but he quickly dodged them and sent one of his arms at her and gave a hard punch to the face, prompting her to skid back a few. She got up and started to look around for him. "Where are you?!" She demanded, she was then knocked to the front by a vined whip. Wildvine then pressed the Omnitrix dial and was engulfed in a green flash, and his place was Ghostfreak, who then used his tentacles to grab Nyu and swing he rin the air and launch her to the ground.

Nyu got up and was trembling as she snarled at him. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU!" She yelled as she sent more vectors, but they were quickly grabbed by Ghostfreaks tentacles, causing her to go wide-eyed. Ghostfreak then fired a beam at her, which hit her in the chest and she went down. She was struggling to get up, but then was grabbed at the throat by an enraged Ghostfreak, who had his claws out and was about ready to hit her, but when he saw her eyes he remembered something.

" _Nyu?_ " He remembered her saying that in her cute voice..his eye went wide as he saw that Nyu was trembling and shaking with fear, he let her go quickly and floated back.

"I-I'm sorry..."He trailed off, and he saw Nana laying on the ground in a pool of blood. "I do not know what is going on, but let me fix her up, and can all sit down and discuss this..." He said, but was then interrupted by a gun cocking, they all turned to see a group of armed men with two other males, one wearing a suit and the other looking like a scientist.

"We got Lucy, and Number Seven...but what the hell is that thing?" One of them asked, but the man in a suit was shocked at seeing Nana on the ground. Nana turned to Nyu, who was distracted and sent her vectors in her head. Prompting Nyu to gasp and then scream in pain as she kneeled to the ground and grabbed her head. Ghostfreak was watching this with wide eyes...just what the hell is going on?

"What did you do to me?" Nyu asked angrily at Nana.

"That is it." The man said as he adjusted his glasses. "There is no way I can forgive you...no way in hell." He said as he started walking over to Nana, much to the soldiers and males' surprise.

"Chief, what are you doing?" The male asked.

"He's suicidal.." One of the guards said in disbelief. The chief walked right by Nyu and Ghostfreak and picked up Nana, who was looking up at him.

"Papa...I'm sorry, I got your ribbon all dirty." She said sadly.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" The chief asked her.

Nana looked at him as more tears came from her eyes. "I just thought you would be proud of me if I bought her back to you...but I just couldn't beat her...I-I'm so sorry Papa." She said.

"Papa?" Nyu aksed. "Humph, too bad, it seems like your daughter is dead."

"Nyu..." Ghostfreak said. "What happened to you?" Nyu looked at him with some scorn, but then he saw something in her eyes...regret...sadness?

"Yes..." The chief said as he got up. "I killed her!" He said as he slapped Nyu right across the face, causing her to fall much to Ghostfreak's horror and surprise. "But that is nothing compared to what you did to Nana." But it is the least I can do." Nyu looked up at him with blood coming out of her mouth and looking with fury on her face.

"STAND BACK CHIEF KURAMA! TAKE YOU AIM MEN!" The scientist said as he soldiers cocked their weapons. Nyu looked at them with anger and looked at Ghostfreak with the same fury. She then quickly lept on the stones and ran off. "Follow her!" The scientist ordered as the soldiers went to follow Nyu. He then saw Ghostfreak and was shocked at his appearance. "What are you?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well..."He was then interrupted by the sound of crying. He turned to see Nana with tears coming out of her eyes.

"Papa...I'm so sorry for being useless." She said, but the Kurama shushed her and told her to not talk and be still.

"I can help." Ghostfreak said to him, much to his surprise. "Just let me get her arms and legs and fingers." Ghostrfreak then grabbed them all and placed them by Nana. "You are going to have to stand back as well sir." Kurama was reluctant at first, but if it was to help Nana, he would obey. Ghsotfreak pressed the dial on his chest and was engulfed in a green light, in his place was a robot made of copper, with black stripes and a transparent piece of green circular glass on his chest, which revealed gears and the Omnitrix symbol.

" **CLOCKWORK!** " The robot yelled. The two men were both shocked and surprised at this.

"What the hell?" The scientist said with his eyes widened. Kurama was also shocked, but what was this...thing going to do to Nana. Clockwork turned to the two men.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt her." Clockwork said. " _I hope.._ " He thought. He put his hands out and fired at Nana. Prompting Kuramam to try to tackle the robot but the Scientist held him back.

"Let me go, Isobe!" Kurama said, still trying to wrestle out of the man's arms.

"No wait...look," Isobe said, Kurama saw what was happening and was shocked. Nana's appendages were being merged back to normal, almost as if they were never cut off in the first place. When that was finished. Clockwork felt exhausted and pressed the Omnitrix dial and turned back into Ben.

"Man, that took a lot out of me..." Ben said wiping his sweaty forehead. He then stopped, turned to the men in front of him and had one thing to say.

"Shit..." He said nervously

( _Eyecatch featuring Lucy and Ghostfreak fighting_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Yuka thinking about Kouta_ )

_Forest_

Lucy was running through the forest away from the soldiers, luckily she was able to steer them away, but now that wasn't on her mind, what was on her mind was that boy...Ben Tennyson.

"How the hell did he beat me?" She asked herself while still running. "And how the hell did he turn into those...things?" She then stopped running and slumped to a tree nearby. "What the hell is that boy?" She asked. She then thought back to his anger, at how he was able to catch her vectors and how he punched her in the face and was going to KILL her, and she was too scared to use her vectors.

Lucy was angered about this. Her? Scared? NO FUCKING WAY! She would never get scared by anything, especially not by some ghost, or phantom..whatever the hell that thing was. She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. She then had another thought.

" _Kouta..._ " She thought. " _I still have to-no. I can't not after..._ " She thought, and then that Ben boy came to her mind as well, the niceness he showed her prior...how he wanted to help her? No...it was a lie, he was a human, and she hated humans for what they had done to her...but Kouta was different, he was the only human she ever loved...but she then felt something in her chest when she saw Ben was well and gazed in his green eyes...was this...the same feeling she had aobut Kouta?

Lucy then felt a sharp pain in her head and she grasped it tightly as she could, after a few minutes she looekd up and said one word.

"Nyu?"

* * *

_Graveyard_

Ben was now looking at teh surprised men with a sheepish smile. "So uh...you mind not telling anyone about this?" Ben asked.

"You got to be kidding me." Isobe said with surprise. "Those soldiers weren't kidding, that kid can transform..." He said. Then he saw Kurama walk over to Ben and stared at him in the eyes, prompting the boy to get nervous.

"You helped Nana, and in return, we will not mention you at all when we get back to the Institute." Kurama said as he grabbed the unconscious Nana and started to walk off. With Isobe walking with him surprised. Kurama looked back at the boy and gave a small smile. "Thank you." He said and with that, they all left Ben standing alone in the graveyard. Ben then sighed and sat down.

"What the hell just happened?" He asked, and he wasn't talking aobut that exchange, he was talking aobut the whole day. What happened to Nyu that made her like that, and why did she rip off Nana's limbs? WHY? Ben pounded his head and was sighing heavily as he started to shed some tears.

"I almost lost control of myself and almost killed Nyu..." He said as tears still ran down his face. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" He yelled, so loud that the birds started to flap away. Ben was breathing heavily as he wiped the tears away and started to get up. "I have to get to the bottom of this...I have to..." He then walked out of the graveyard

* * *

_Kamakura streets_

Ben was at a small cafe staring at his cup with a blank stare on his face. He was so confused about everything, about this world, about Nyu, those soldier guys, Nana...everything. Ben was wishing that Paradox was here to talk to him, hell he wishes that Gwen, Kevin, or Grandpa Max were here to talk to him about this stuff. He simply sighed to himself as he paid for his drink and started to walk off.

As he was walking he still couldn't get that fight out of his head, neither could the get the image of Nana's body parts scattered, and her lying in a pool of her blood. Just what the hell was going on? He knows he asked himself this a few times, but he was serious...if only Paradox was here... Ben saw that it was already night time.

"how long have I been out?" He asked himself as she started walking back to Maple Inn, but then he felt some guilt...he almost killed Nyu...he couldn't look at her again...

"Ben!" He turned to see Kouta and Mayu walking up with Wanta following close by. "There you are, we have been wondering where you been. Yuka and Nyu have been worried." He said. Ben's eyes widened at this and gave a small frown.

"Sorry...I guess I just lost track of time..." He said, he saw Mayu and smiled. "How're you doing squirt?" He asked. Mayu blushed a littel bit and smiled.

"Ok...I guess..." She said nervously. At least she was ok, but what was up about that bandage on her head?

"We're about to go back to the house, let's go." Kouta said as she and Mayu started to walk ahead, with Ben following behind

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Everything was silent on the way back. Ben still couldn't get that hurtful feeling off of his mind. When they all entered Kout astarted to call out and Yuka entered

"Welcome back." Yuka said, she saw Ben and smiled big. "Ben! Thank goodness, we have been worried sick aobut you." She scolded him in a stern tone.

"Sorry...I lost track of time." He said with a small smile. Yuka sighed and smiled, she saw Mayu and was surprised.

"Hello.." Mayu trailed off a little ib, but before Yuka could ask about it. Nyu suddenly ran up to Kout and hugged him.

"Nyu!" She said gleefully as Kouta was trying to get her off of him.

"Hy easy Nyu." He said. Ben saw this and the guild came back, he felt his heartstrings pulling and tears starting to build up ion his eyes.

"I don't deserve to be in the same room as her..." He thought. But when Nyu saw Ben, she immediately glomped him with a big hug.

"NYU!" She yelled happily as she looked at him with a smile. Ben saw those eyes and felt guilty for almost trying to hurt her, but he also remembered down she attacked him and that Nana girl...something just wasn't right.

Mayu saw NYu and she remembered her as the girl from the graveyard. Mayu tried to say something and Nyu and Ben looked over at her.

"Nyu?" She said. Mayu smiled a bit.

"No, it's impossible for legs would fall off on their own." She thought. Yuka smiled.

"Let's all go eat. I just put dinner on the table."

"Well..ok, sure." Mayu said nervously

"I'm not that-" Ben tried to say but Nyyu was tugging on his arm, he sighed a littel and relented as Nyu dragged him into the dining room. Kouta then looekd over at Yuka.

"Nyu was seriously worried that much huh?"

"Yea, Nyu was freaking out a little bit." Yuka said, she too was worried, but they were all back so it was good.

Everyone then sat down at the table and was eating some fish with soup. When Mayu took a bite into hers, she blushed and held her cheek.

"It-its so good." She said in astonishment. The others looked at her while Yuka smiled.

"Thank you, you think so?" She asked, with Nyu smiling. Kouta took a sip from his bowl and frowned a bit.

"Really? I mean it's alright, I had better." Kouta said, with Yuka giving him a small glare. Ben mischievously smiled and sipped from his bowl.

"Oh man...Yuka, I'm sorry but this food...I think I am about to get sick." Ben said holding his stomach

"Not you too Ben!" Yuka cried out while face-faulting, with Ben, laughing.

"I'm just teasing." He said with a smile. "Man the look on your face though." He said, Kouta was smiling and Nyu and Mayu were giggling, with Yuka sending the younger teen a small glare.

Mayu then set her bowl on the table. "Thank you for the meal, it was teh best I had in a long time." Yuka smiled at her again.

"Oh I forgot, Mayu the bath is ready for you to use, right Kouta?" Kouta looekd at her confusingly, and he was going to say something, but she glared at him, causing him to reel back and allow Mayu to use the bath.

"Whipped," Ben said smirking.

"Shut up Ben." Kouta mumbled as Ben got up to go take care of the dishes.

When being to back to the dining room, he saw Kouta and Yuka sitting down, but Nyu was missing. "Hey guys, where's Nyu?"

"She looked like she needed a bath as well, so I sent her in." Yuka told him.

"Won't that bother Mayu?" Ben asked as he sat down next to Kouta.

"Oh yea, I wanted to talk to you guys about Mayu." Yuka exclaimed to them. She mentioned to them how she was talking today at a bakery and said that she was told that Mayu has been going there every day to get some bread crusts.

"She sais that they are for the dog...but I think that the crumbs are for both of them." She said as Kouta crossed his arms.

"I kinda figured something was up." She never talks about her family or friends."

"Yea," Ben added. "Today when I asked about her friends and family I saw her trembling...not out of nervousness, but it looked like it was out of fear or something." Ben said with some concern in his voice.

"Do you think she could be a runaway?" Kouta asked. Ben was thinking aobut this, if she indeed was a runaway, then something must have been going wrong at her home.

"If she is, don't you think we should call the police?" Yuka asked.

"That would be the right thing, but if she indeed is a runaway, something must be going on at teh at the home of hers that caused her to run away...I want to find out what it was before we do something drastic." Ben said.

"I have to agree with Ben on that one." Kouta said as he sipped his tea. "I would feel bad for Mayu if we sent her home without knowing what her reason was."

"Yea, you guys are right." Yuka said. Kouta then looekd at her determinedly.

"Besides, it isn't like we can trust the police anyway." Kouta said, much to Yuka's surprise. "You want to know that night on the beach?" He asked. He then went on to explain about what happened with the soldiers and Nyu, Ben didn't listen much because he knew what happened.

"I see...so that is why you both are so protective of Nyu." Yuka said. Kouta nodded his head and turned to Ben.

"Ben, you never did tell me how you got Nyu back."

Ben paled for am moment, he still wasn't ready to reveal to them that he can turn into different aliens with his watch. So he made a little lie. "They were distracted so I quickly grabbed her and we both made a run for it." He said.

Kouta smiled at him and nodded his head. He turned to Yuka and apologized for not telling her aobut it, not wanting her to worry.

"No..it's fine." Yuka said. Ben looekd to see that both were smiling at each other and sporting blushes on their faces.

" _Wait...are they? No, they can't, they're cousins..._ " Ben was not the one to judge, but if they did like each other like this, it made him a little bit uncomfortable since they were cousins, but he would not say anything as it would be rude. " _Well this is a different country and another world, after all, maybe it's different here..._ " Ben thought. At that point, his thought was interrupted by Nyu entering the teh dining room with a squeal and her naked body covered with some sus, with her breasts showing. Ben saw this and immediately blushed like crazy as he was gripping his nose tightly, trying to prevent a nosebleed. Kouta felt teh same and yuka immediately got up and went to take Nyu back to the bath.

"You got Kouta and Ben worked up again Nyu." Yuka scolded lightly as they took off. Kouta sighed and put his head down.

"Could this get any more complicated?" He asked.

"Who knows dude." Ben said as he looekd out the window, he was still thinking about what happened at the graveyard but was thinking more aobut Kurama and that guy Isobe. What institution were they talking about? Ben was suspicious.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

"This saddens me dearly." An old man wearing a dark suit and gray hair said to Kurama. "She was intended to become the new Eve to a new human race." He sighed as he looked down. "And yet...exterminate number Seven." He said to Kurama, who's eyes widened. "Useless Diclonius are nothing but liabilities. You have dispatched several carriers Kurama and I expect you to show mercy to this one as well." Kurama bowed and walked out.

Kurama walked out and down the hallways. He couldn't believe what his boss was telling him to do. Kill Nana, Kurama couldn't go through with that, especially after she was saved by that boy...the boy...the boy fascinated Kurama, he at first didn't believe it, but was proved wrong. When the boy healed Nana, Kurama was grateful...he knew that he had to send her away from this place..to protect her.. he walked into a room where Nana was laying down and Shirakawa was sitting on the side.

He put his hand to her cheek as she looked up at him weakly.

"Papa.."She said as she smiled a bit and held his hand.

"I have to run some tests, and it might hurt a little...so be brave for me." He said as he held out a syringe. Nana looekd up and him and gave a small smile.

"Sure...I will be brave for you Papa." Nana said as he then injected the needle in her arm. "Papa...I feel so sleepy.." She said. Kurama was trembling...he didn't want o do this to her..."Papa...goodbye." she said as she finally closed her eyes, Shirakawa was silently crying nearby and Kurama had some tear in his eyes as he looked at her.

" _Don't worry Nana...I'm getting you out of here._ " He thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...so that was that, man everything was crazy, the fight, the tension...everything. Ben certainly has gotten himself in a pickle...but things will get better...let's hope. Anyway, don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have. See you all next time :)


	5. Mayu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so as he know last time, Ben and Lucy fought in the graveyard, but it all stopped after Ben nearly killed her, will he be able to forgive himself for almost losing control? Let's find out  
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Diclonius Institute_

Kurama was looking out into the distance as Shirakawa was walking up to him.

"I filed a report to the director, The incident with Number 7." she told him.

"Ok." He simply told her as he was still looking out into the distance. Shirakawa still looked at him with a saddened face.

"Do you...regret your decision?"

"Regret belongs to people who have the right to people who have the right to look back on the past...all I have is shame." He said.

"Chief..." She thought to herself. "But what about the boy?"

"He saved Nana's life, I didn't tell the director about him. Now him and I are even." He still said as he looked out to the distance. " _Kid...if you are thinking about getting involved in this...for your safety, you better leave Kamakura at once._ " He thought

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben woke up in the morning and yawned. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and got ready for the day. Yuka had taken him clothes shopping before but had not had the time to try them yet. After changing out of his sleepwear, he was wearing a light blue T-shirt, some black jeans, and was in his socks, he looked around and got his green jacket. He just felt...weird and naked without it...not trying to be weird.

Ben opened the door and stepped out and looked around until he saw Nyu coming out in her pajamas. Guilt came back to him as he was still feeling like shit over what had happened at the graveyard...but still, he was curious about why she did that though. But for now he simply smiled a bit and Nyu walked over to him with a smile on her face.

"Nyu!" She said sweetly as she looekd at him.

"Hey, Nyu." Ben said with a small smile on his face. "Did you sleep well?" Nyu nodded her head. "That's good." He said with a smile as she walked to the dining area. As he walked Nyu was looking at him.

She couldn't explain it, but whenever she sees Ben, she feels her heartbeat go fast and her face turns hot, but she couldn't understand why. Ben has been so nice to her...she didn't know aobut love or dating...but why was she feeling like this every time she saw him? She blushed again when she imagined Ben hugging her on that beach that night, much to her confusion, but was smiling at the memory. she then noticed the clock nearby and went to go examine it.

Ben was now in the dining room area with Kouta and Yuka, apparently, Mayu left he house at some point, whether it was in the middle of the night? Or early in the morning? Who knows, but she left a note saying her thanks and stuff as she didn't want to be a burden on them.

"I saw the note when I went to go wake her up." Yuka said. Ben was reading this over and giving it some thought.

"I don't think that she would do this without a good reason." Ben said concerningly.

"What do you think we should do?" Yuka asked. Ben was also thinking this, he wanted her to maybe come live with them...but he still wanted to know what was going on at her home that caused her to run away in the first place.

"Maybe...she should move in here." Kouta suggested, much to Yuka and Bens's surprise.

"Move in here?" Yuka asked in disbelief. Ben was also in disbelief about it, not because it was a bad idea, but because of how they might get in trouble with her family if they took her in without their permission or consent. Kouta turned to Yuka

"Just admit it, you are just as worried about her as I am!" Kouta snapped at her, prompting Yuka to sigh and look down.

"Yea, you're right, and it is dangerous for a girl like that to be by herself."

Ben was thinking the same thing Yuka said aobut not being safe out there. After stopping those crooks from killing that innocent woman in the alley, he was worried that she would get hurt, killed, or...no he didn't want to think about THAT.

"Although...taking her in might be more than we can handle." Kouta said much to Ben's surprise. "She needs to go home..wherever that might be." Yuka then got up.

"What are you talking aobut? She can't go back to her home, why do you think she ran away in the first place?" She asked. Ben was thinking the same thing Yuka said to Kouta. Ben wanted to find out about her home life and why she ran away. Yuka instructed Kouta to get ready and went to go get her purse. Nyu, we're going out!" She said to the girl. Kout and Ben looekd out at her

"As usual, I just don't get that girl." Kouta said.

"Meh, could be worse." Ben told him. Yuka reminded of Gwen a little bit, but she wasn't a dweeb like her. They both saw Nyu poking at the clock and walked to her.

"Don't mess with that Nyu, it isn't a toy you know." Kouta told her. Nyu looekd up in confusion with Ben just chuckling.

" _I have to go Brainstorm to fix that thing at some point._ " Ben thought

* * *

_Kamakura Market/Bakery_

Kouta and Yuka were talking to the nice baker lady, Nyu was looking at some fish nearby, and Ben was keeping a close eye on her, hoping that nothing would make that hat fall off of her head. The more he was watching her the more he was blushing.

"Why am I feeling like this?" Ben thought to himself. "I _mean hell she tried to kill that Nana girl yesterday...but it didn't seem like her though...and she looks so cute and adorable...with her lovely eyes and-DAMMIT STOP BEN!_ " He sighed to himself to calm down. " _Even if I did want to date her...she would probably leave me...because of my hero work, just like Julie.._ "

"Nyu!" Ben was brought back to reality by Nyu, who was tugging on his arm. Nyu was still tugging.

"What is it Nyu?" He asked. Nyu was pointing to some fish. "Those are called Fish." He told her.

"Fi-ish?" She said with confusion. But ben smiled at her.

"That's right, fish. It can be used to cook and eat, we had it the other night remember?" He asked her, prompting to tilt her head in confusion. He sighed and smiled a bit.

"Well, it's fine." He said. Ben was about to walk back over to where ehe was before, but then he suddenly tripped and fell, prompting Nyu to fall with him. He groaned a littel bit as rubbed his head...but what was that? He felt something on his lips, they felt soft, warm, and tasted like strawberries, when he opened his eyes to see what happened..that is when his eyes widened.

Ben was on top of Nyu, and their lips..were TOUCHING! Ben immediately pulled away and helped her up. He was trying to apologize but when he saw Nyu, he stopped, Nyu was looking flustered and her face was blushing like crazy, he leaned over to feel her head and it was feeling hot, and he was sure it wasn't from the heat neither.

"Nyu?" Ben said trying to talk but found himself sweating with nervousness. "Are you ok?" He asked. Nyu looked at him and was leaning in close to him, prompting him to get nervous and walk backward. "Now Nyu, that was an accident you hear? I only like you as a friend." He said, but he was still blushing like crazy, Ntyu was still leaning in close and was starting to get closer, but then Ben tripped and slipped on a box, causing him to fall.

"Nyu!" She cried as she ran over to help him up, and she wasn't the only one. Kouta and Yuka heard the noise and followed the noise to find Ben down.

"Ben, are you ok?" Yuka asked concerningly as she was helping him up.

"Yep." Ben simply said brushing the dust off of his jacket. "Never been better." He said, he saw Nyu smiling at him. "Guess she got over it...but I still can't believe...I kissed her." He thought as he was blushing again. Good thing Kevin wasn't here, otherwise, he would tease the hell out of Ben for it

"Hey Ben," Yuka said, prompting Ben to snap out of his thoughts to see Yuka looking at him again. "The lady had told us that Mayu hasn't come at all today, but she wanted us to give her this." She said. Ben took the box from Yuka and opened dit up to see that it was a lovely little birthday cake. Ben smiled at this display of kindness.

"Alright then, we should all split up then." He said.

"I agree." Yuka said. "Me, Kouta, and Nyu will go one way, and you go another."

"Ok, I'll see you all later, and make sure no one sees what is under Nyu's hat." Ben instructed them as he began to leave. As they separated Nyu gave one look over to Ben and smiled sweetly at him as they walked away.

Ben walked to a nearby alley as he was activating his Omnitrix and in a green flash, he turned into Ghostfreak once again. He took to soaring the skies to figure out where Mayu might be at.

"I still want to figure out why Mayu ran away, poor little kid, I hope she is alright." Ghostfreak somberly said as he continued soaring.

* * *

_Flashback/Mayu's House_

Mayu was standing in front of her mother and her new stepfather, with the stepfather looking down at her in a creepy way.

"Mayu," Her mother said. "Say hello to your new father.

"Well hello, sweetheart." The stepfather said. Mayu looked up at him nervously

Later on, Mayu was in a bedroom with her stepfather sitting on a bed and her trembling.

"Now take off your clothes." He ordered her. Mayu did as she was told, albeit she was trembling with fear, as her clothes fell to her feet her stepfather was still giving that shitty grin of his. "Now...you know what do right?" He asked. Mayu nodded fearfully and she bent down and got on all fours, prompting the stepfather to lean in and smiled some more.

"That's my girl." He said.

a few days later, Mayu was in the kitchen as her mother was washing the dishes.

"Mommy?" Mayu began. "I can't stand that...man anymore." She said.

"Oh?" Her mother said with curiosity in her voice. "And why is that?" She asked. Mayu began to look down and tremble again.

"You see...when you aren't around he-"

**SLAP**

Mayu's mother then slapped Mayu right across the face, prompting teh girl to stumble a bit as she held onto her stinging cheek.

"Your the one that isn't wanted here." The mother said with venom in her voice. "Because fo you, he won't touch me." She said as she stomped out of the room, making Mayu silently weep to herself. How could her mother do something like this?

Later on, Mayu was in front of her stepfather again and removed her pants, and she was about to remove her sweater but then stopped.

"Huh?" The stepfather said. "What's the matter? Take it off." He ordered.

"I-" Mayu began.

"Hmm?" The stepfather said. Mayu looekd up at him with anger as tears filled her eyes.

"I'M NOT GOING TO DO THIS ANYMORE!" She yelled as she grabbed a nearby lamp from her nightstand and hit her stepfather right in the face with it, causing him to yowl in pain as he stumbled down, then she made a quick run for the door and out of the house.

She ran down the street as fast as her legs could carry her, far away from her-no, her _former_ home. She ran as far as she coulda and stopped to look back, she thought she made a good distance, but as she was anting to catch her breath, she kneeled to the ground and started to cry.

A few days later she was still wearing that sweater of hers because she left as fas tas she could to get away from that horrible man, she wasn't able to grab any essentials, she looked tired and hungry, when she was walking she saw teh blue sea.

"The ocean..." She said to herself as she walked towards it.

* * *

_Flashback/Beach_

when she got there she started to look at and gave a sad look on her face, the shit she went through..god...she then took her shoes off and was walking in the ocean...what was she doing? But before she was able to go far out, she looekd back after hearing a noise, she turned back to find a small dog barking at her shoes.

Mayu then walked out of the water and back to the shore and knelt to look and pet the dog and gave a small smile.

"Were you abandoned?" She asked the dog as he was wagging his little tail and looking up at her, she picked him up and hugged him. "You're just like me." she said as she hugged him

* * *

_Present Time/Yuigahama Beach_

Mayu and Wanta were both looking out on the beach.

"They were such nice people." She said. "Especially that Ben person, I wonder if everyone in America is nice like him." She said as Wanta barked in reply. At one point a woman came up to them.

"James!" She said as she took Wanta (or James apparently) out of Mayu's arms. "thank God, I have been looking for you everywhere." The woman said as she started to walk away, but Mayu called out to her before she could leave.

"Excuse me, but if your his owner..is it alright if I can come to visit him sometime? I could walk him." Mayu was hoping that this woman would let her come see Wan-James at certain points, but here was the woman's answer.

"*scoffs* Look at yourself!" The woman said to her rudely, prompting Mayu to frown sadly a bit. "Like I would let a homely girl like yourself go anywhere near him." She said as she then walked away telling James about how he was safe and all. Mayu tried to stop her but the woman was already far away. And Mayu started to weep again.

Later that night Ben was walking all over the place, all day he was looking to Mayu and couldn't find her anywhere.

"I didn't think it would be this difficult to find a lost kid." He said to himself, he looked at the Omnitrix to see that it was still charging up a bit. "Damn...I was hoping to go Jetray, crap." He muttered as he continued walking in the rain. As he was walking near the shore, he spotted three familiar faces. "Kouta! Yuka! Nyu!" He called out

When the three saw and heard him they all ran towards him, and Nyu glomped him again with another big hug. "Man I didn't know I was missed that much." He chuckled with Nyu looking at him with a big smile on her face.

"She was wondering about you all day." Kouta said as YUka came up to them. "So did you find Mayu?" He asked. Ben shook his head.

"No, I didn't think it would be this difficult." He said, he then noticed some policemen near some crates. "Wonder what's going on over there." He said, making the members of Maple Inn look their way, they saw Mayu emerge from the crates running. Why was she running from the police? They all began to walk towards her, with Nyu fragging Bens arm, much to his embarrassment.

Mayu was running from the policemen as fast as her legs could carry her, as she made ti to the ledge, she saw someone carrying an umbrella and was wearing a blue shirt and pants, she immediately had flashbacks to her horrible home life.

"No...I don't want to go back there." She said fearfully.

"Mayu." Her fear diminished a bit as she saw who it was, it was Kouta smiling and carrying an umbrella, and with him were Yuka, Nyu, and Ben.

"Thank God, we have been looking all over for you." Ben said with a smile.

"You have? Why?" Mayu was a bit confused, but then the police came walking up to them all.

"Who're you all? You know this girl?" One of them asked.

"Yes, we are sir." Yuka said, prompting Mayu to look down a bit, much to Ben's notice and confusion.

"She is a member of our family." Kouta said. Mayu looked up in surprise.

"Family?" The other policeman asked.

"Yes!" Kouta, Yuka, and Ben said in unison, with Nyu just looking on.

"We just had a small fight." Kouta said. "but our family has a bad habit of running off and hiding when they are upset." He said sheepishly, prompting Yuka to look at him annoyingly.

"Yea, like this one for instance." Ben teasingly patted Yuka on the head. "I remember one time, she ran and hid from us for two hours." He said, but then Yuka elbowed him in the gut and gave a small glare at him that shut him up and mouthed an apology at her. Kouta chuckled at this and looekd down to Mayu

"Anyway, let's head home now." He said to her.

( _Eyecatch featuring Mayu and Wanta sitting on the beach, looking up in the sky_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben giving a smirk at a few soldiers while activating the Omnitrix_ )

_Maple Inn_

The five than were walking p the stairs to the house while laughing and giggling but Mayu was just quiet.

"Man, that police looked so puzzled right?" Kouta asked

"Darn right." Ben said, but then shrunk a bit as Yuka then glared at him.

"Just letting you know, I won't forget that comment you made Benjamin Tennyson." Ben face-faulted at not only her claim but at her using his full name.

"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSE TO DO?!" He yelled comically. "I HAD TO MAKE IT SEEM REAL!" He then sloughed and mumbled under his breath, but when he saw Nyu giggle, he smiled a bit again, but the guilt from the other night filled his mind again...but it was replaced by when he kissed Nyu, which caused him to blush.

"Why?" Ben got out of his thought s and looked over at Mayu. "Why did you all do it?"

"Lie to the cops?" Kouta asked. "Well, I figured it was easier than to explain what was going on." Ben agreed with him, sure he wouldn't lie to law officials, but for this time, he felt that trying to explain would have been too difficult to do.

"Not that, but why were you all looking for me?" Mayu asked. Koiuta simply leaned down and grabbed her hand. telling her to come on so they don't catch a cold. Mayu asking them to wait.

They were now in the house. Ben, Yuka, Kouta, and Mayu were all in the dining room area because Ben was standing in the rain, he changed out his clothes and into his sleepwear, which consisted of black shorts, a green undershirt, and socks.

"You know, I don't know what it si you are running from, but why don't you stay here until you worked things out." Kouta suggested.

Mayu looekd up in surprise." Really? Here?"

"No, at the bakery, of course here silly." Ben said ruffling her hair, prompting her to giggle a bit and push his hand away. Yuka then got a face of realization and bought out the cake and set it in on the table.

"Today's your birthday isn't that right?" Yuka asked. "That nice lady at the bakery wanted you to have it, even if it is a leftover." Mayu looked at the cake with her eyes widening.

"Really? That's for me?" She asked.

"Yea, happy birthday Mayu." Kouta said with a smile. Mayu's lip was trembling a bit, almost as if she was aobut to cry. At that point, Nyu walked in carrying a big bow of rice and placing it in front of Mayu.

"Huh? What's with the rice?" Ben asked. Yuka looked over at him and smiled.

"Nyu saw Mayu eating it yesterday, and she looekd happy when she was eating it." Mayu looekd up at Nyu and the girl nodded her head.

"So she is saying happy birthday in her way then." Ben said with a smile.

"I guess." Kouta said with a grin on his own. Mayu then looked down, causing puzzled and concerned faces on them all.

"I wish you didn't...I don't want to be a burden on you all." She said as Ben walked over, knelt, and lifted her head gently, looking into her eyes.

"Mayu, you will never be a burden to us, never in a lifetime." Ben said with a smile on his face. Mayu looekd into his green eyes and started to cry, she then wiped her eyes again.

"Oh heck, I'm crying again...but I am just so happy...so why am I crying?" She asked as tears were coming out of her eyes.

"Those are tears of happiness Mayu." Ben said to her. That is when Mayu broke down and sobbed, not out of sadness, but out of happiness, finally, she had found a family that would be ten times better than her last family. Nyu and Yuka went over and hugged their fellow female while Kouta and Ben looked back with happiness.

Ben walked out of the room for a moment and heard some barking at the entrance, confused, he walked over and opened the door to find Wanta.

"Hey, little buddy." Ben said as he patted Wanta. "Where have you been?" He asked. Wanta simply barked and wagged hid fur to get teh water off of him, prompting Ben to smile and laugh. "Wait, let's surprise Mayu ok?" Wanta barked and hopped into Ben's hands, and Ben put his hands and Wanta behind his back. He then entered the dining area again.

"Oh, Mayu." Ben said in a sing-songy voice. "Someone wants to see you." He said as he then held out Wanta. Mayu immediately ran over and grabbed Wanta and started to cry some more, prompting Ben to smile at this beautiful reunion.

After a long night and staying up for some of the night while everyone else went to bed early, Ben was getting ready to go to sleep, today was a crazy day. Looking for Mayu, celebrating her birthday...but the craziest thing of all, he kissed Nyu. Of course, it was a total accident, but he was still shocked and surprised that they both kissed. Ben was reminiscing back to it and was smiling to himself, her lips were soft and warm and tasted of strawberries.

But Ben was concerned, he still wanted to find out about her past, and why she attacked him and that one girl Nana the other day. But hopefully, there will be time for that. As Ben was sleeping he heard his door open and coming in was Nyu in her pajamas, much to his confusion.

"Nyu? What are you doing up?" He asked.

"Nyu..sleep with Ben?" She asked. Ben was surprised, by not only hr asking in a semi-sentence but asking if she can sleep with him. Ben was blushing like madly.

"You want to sleep with me?" Ben asked, prompting the girl to nod her head yes. Ben was groaning inside his head, but then calmed down, maybe she just had a nightmare and wanted to sleep with a friend. "Well, ok then." He said with a small smile. Nyu smiled big and climbed in the futon with Ben. Ben made some space for the two of them and gave most of his comforter to her.

"There, you can have that space, and you can have some of my comforter." He said, and by some, he meant all fo it. Nyu looekd concerned. "Don't worry I can use my jack-" But then Nyu took his jacket and tossed it to the side. "Hey!"

Nyu shook her head and offered some of it back to him. He sighed and relented, there was no sue fighting with her..especially if she reverted that she would most likely kill him.

"Well ok, then Nyu." He said as he got under the covers and scootched some away from her as he turned off the light. "Goodnight Nyu." He said softly.

"Nyu" She said sleepily as she nuzzled into the cushions. Ben looekd back and blushed at how adorable she looked. He was still trying to think...could he like her? Ben shook his head off of those things for now and went to sleep..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that is that everyone, now originally I was going to do all fo episode five, you know where they got o school and the director's son gets killed and shit, but I decided to save that for the next chapter instead, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Mayu's stepfather is going to get what is coming to him eventually. So BEN AND NYU/LUCY KISSED! Accidentally on their part, but they KISSED! THEY KISSED! Oh man, and Ben is seriously questioning his feelings for the girl. And Nyu herself is starting to develop some feelings for the boy as well even though she is confused by it. Is it meant to be? Only time and future chapters will tell. Anyway, don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and answer any questions you might have for me. Se you all next time :)


	6. Justice is Served

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last time on Ultimate Leid, we got into a glimpse of Mayu's backstory and teh residents of Maple Inn had gone out to search for her. The founder and celebrated her birthday, Mayu finally found a nice family to care for her. Also, we saw Ben and Nyu accidentally kissing, how will this come into play? Time will tell, now sit back, grab popcorn, and let's begin.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

Ben felt drowsy the next morning, I mean it was morning so why wouldn't he? But that wasn't the only thing he felt, he also felt something on him, when he was able to open his eyes to see what it was, the drowsiness went away completely and his face was blushing like crazy as his eyes widened like saucers, why? Because of Nyu. Nyu was snuggled right next to him, with her face in his neck, her arm wrapped across his chest, and her leg wrapped around him, and she had a happy expression on her face. Ben was blushing like crazy and his face was heating up.

"Oh crap!" Ben thougth. "How the heck did-When di-" He stammered, he didn't know how or when this happened, but he was freaking up. What if the other residents walked in and saw this? It wouldn't be a pretty picture. "Nyu." Ben whispered into her ear. "Nyu, time to get up." He whispered again, but this prompted Nyu to just wrap him tighter and bury her face further into his neck, further causing him to blush like crazy.

"This is going to be hard." Ben said to himself softly.

"Well, well, well." All the color in Ben's face drained as he turned to the door, to be face-to-face with a smiling Yuka, but Ben could feel the annoyance and anger radiating off of her. "Isn't this cute."

"Oh boy.." Ben paled

Later on, everyone was all sitting down at the table, Ben took the time to explain to Yuka that he let Nyu stay with him in his room the other night, mentioning how she must have had a bad dream, but he had nothing to do with her nuzzling into him. Yuka sighed and forgave Ben, Kouta looked surprised, Mayu nodded her head at the misunderstanding, and Nyu looked confused. Guess she didn't know aobut that as well. Things were quiet for a moment

"So anyway," Ben said trying to break the tension. "What is the plan for today?" He asked.

"Oh yea, Kouta and I are attending University in a few days and we need to go shopping for stuff, I also got to go and get Mayu registered for the local school."

"What about me?" Ben asked. Yuka gave it some thought and then had a realization.

"You think you can stay here and do some cleaning?" She asked. Ben thought of it as a good thing to do, I mean someone had to guard the fort, that and he could use some of his aliens to clean up.

"Sure. but wait, what will happen to me when you guys all go to school?"

Yuka thought aobut it again. "You can come to University with me and Kouta." Yuka said smiling.

"You sure? I am from America remember? I don't know how to write in Japanese writing." He said. He didn't mind school, but he was in another world/country so he was nervous.

"Don't be, we'll help you out." Yuka said with a smile. Kouta nodded his head in approval.

"Thanks guys." Ben said with a smile. Mayu, who had been a little nervous asked Ben some questions aobut America, and he was able to answer them with kindness. "Well some of it is not all perfect, like crime and stuff like that, but people in my hometown of Bellwood are polite, you would all love them."

"Oh, that reminds me." Yuka said. "Ben, you never really talk about your hometown, you mind telling us some about it, please?"

"Sure, I live in the city of Bellwood, nice big city and stuff like that, I live with my parents Carl and Sandra Tennyson. There are also other family members, there's my Grandpa Max, who is a nice big guy, but you do NOT want to eat his cooking."

"Ben, you shouldn't be rude." Yuka scolded.

"Yuka...trust me. Anyway, there is also my cousin Gwen, she can be a riot, I remember that she and I would argue form time to time when we were younger, but we outgrew it. There's also my best friend Kevin, he acts tough, but he is a softie on the inside." Ben said, prompting some of the girls to giggle at that.

"Sounds like your family is nice..." Mayu said with some dejection. Ben noticed this and patted her on the head.

"Mayu, I don't know what your family did to you that caused you to run away, but you don't have to worry now, you have Yuka, Kouta, Nyu, Wanta and me here." He said with a smile, prompting Mayu to pour some tears from her eyes, which she noticed and wiped away.

"I'm sorry, I nearly cried again." She said, prompting Ben to chuckle a bit.

"Don't have to apologize squirt." He said, prompting Mayu to smile at him.

"Well, I do hope that we can meet your family one day." Yuka said with a smile.

"Maybe." Ben said with a smile. " _Should I tell them? No..not yet._ " He thought.

Later on, Yuka and the other Maple Inn residents were all by the door and Ben was watching them go.

"You sure you can handle all fo this by yourself, Ben?" Kouta asked. "I mean, I can stay and help if you want."

"No, it's fine. You all go out, and I'll hold down the fort."

Yuka giggled. "Ok then, We'll be back by lunch." She said as they started to walk out.

"See you later Ben!" Mayu called out as she and Wanta left to follow Yuka and Kouta. Nyu took a gander over at Ben for a few minutes before giving him a sweet smile and leaving with the rest. Ben took notice at how now..he had the whole place to himself, he was chuckling at the thought of if he was ten, then we would invite people over for a party. Ben was looking over at a list to see what the first thing to do and it was scrubbing the floors.

"No problem." Ben smirked as he activated his Omnitrix, he selected an alien and slammed the dial and was engulfed in green light. When the light vanished, standing in Ben's place was a red, humanoid mollusk-like alien. He had green eyes, small grey spikes behind his legs and on top of his arms, black spots on his shoulders and legs, four gingers with claws and his hands, a single spike on his right and left feet, had a grey lower torso with two spikes, and he had portholes on his hands.

" **WATER HAZARD!** " He shouted, despite his mouth not moving. He looekd at the floors and put out his hands. "It's time this floor got shiny clean like diamonds." He said in a deep voice as he sent blasts of warm water onto the floor, now that was the easy part, now was time for the scrubbing. He then touched the Omnitrix dial on his chest and in a flash, he turned into Four Arms and got out some mops

"Now this should be easy." He said grinning as he then mopped up the floor as fast as his four arms can handle it, after a few minutes he got done and looked at his job, it would take a few to dry but to Four Arms, it was a mission successful. "I could go Heastblast to try to dry the floor..but then again I don't want to burn the house down just like the forest when I got the Omnitrix for the first time." Four Arms said sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. He turned back into Ben and ook out the paper to see that he had to go fold the beds.

He went into Yuka's room first and got to work, at first, it was difficult, but he soon found some instructions left behind by Yuka, and it turned out to be very simple, so simple. that he didn't need any of his aliens to do the job. After that, he looked at the neatly folded futon and smiled to himself on a job well done. He then saw a book nearby and walked over to it to get a closer look. Ben wasn't the kind of guy to look through other people's things so he decided to leave it alone.

Next, he went into Mayu's new room and he folded up the sheets, comforter, and futon. As he was leaving he saw a little diary nearby Mayu's closet and picked it up, he was about to set it next to the futon until a curious thought came to his mind. Now he wasn't the kind of guy to delve into people's stuff, plus he wasn't gonna go through whatever the book Yuka had. But he wanted to know why Mayu ran away, after fighting with his thought for a few minutes, he sighed and opened it up, hoping to get some answers.

When he did and started to read why she ran away, he was pissed. No, not pissed, ENRAGED. How could this...BASTARD, do this to his stepdaughter? Ben was pissed off, and to make it worse. Her mother blamed HER? Ben wanted to do nothing more but to find out where they lived and beat the crap out of the stepfather, he wouldn't kill him, despite what he did, but he wanted that bastard to be locked up for life, along with that bitch who had the right to call herself a mother.

Ben had to calm down before he lashed out, he set the book down and walked out of Mayu's room to go get a drink of water to calm his nerves. After taking a few breathes in, he was calm enough to go do the rest of the rooms, but he was still pretty pissed about what Mayu's stepfather did. As soon as Mayu got back, he wanted to know.

Next, he went into Kouta's room and did the same thing to the beds, he was still angry, but he was trying not to take his anger out on the bedsheets, comforter, or futon. He then looekd around Kouta's room for a bit and spotted the slipper that NYu got him when he wasn't feeling good, he chuckled to himself at that memory, still Ben was pretty curious aobut Kouta's past as well, he already knew his father and sister died, but what aobut his mom? OR his past other than that?

Ben decided to shake these off for now and go into Nyu's room, he looked around to see that it was in good condition, and he saw the sheets were scattered, he sighed and started to fold them neatly, along with the futon. When he did that he saw some papers nearby and knelt to take a closer look at them. He picked them up to see some drawings, he assumed that she did them herself. There were drawings of her, Kouta, Yuka, Ben, Mayu, and Wana and he smiled. But two pictured in particular got his attention. One of her and Kouta holding hands, and another of her and Ben holding hands.

Ben was blushing a bit as he saw these, when he saw the one of Nyu and Kouta, he felt some jealousy rising in him, but he shook it off as he wondered why he felt jealous, he only saw Nyu as a friend...so why did he feel jealous? He should only see Nyu as a friend, he just wasn't ready to date yet...but did he want to date her? Part of him kinda did, but another part of him was concerned because of what she did to that Nana girl in the cemetery two days ago. He sighed to himself and put the picture down, only time will tell. He noticed the white shirt Nyu wore the fist night at teh house to see it was on the floor.

Now Ben wasn't perverted by any means, he was more polite than that. He was tempted so much to grab the shirt and take a whiff, but he didn't because it would be weird of him to do, and he didn't want to make anything weird between him and Nyu. He sighed and walked out of the room. He looked over at the list to see that those two objectives were the only ones he could do for now. Since there was some free time, Ben decided to go out of the house to explore more of his surroundings, but not before locking the doors and windows.

* * *

_Kamakura Streets_

As Ben was walking amongst the Kamakura streets, he saw people talking to each other, families eating together, it was nice. He was hoping that he could go back to Bellwood soon, but not to soon, because of the events that are going on, he felt like this world needed saving.

"Help!" Ben heard someone say. "Some guys took off in a truck and took the bank's yen!" Ben glared his eyes in the air and ran into an alley. "It's Hero Time!"

The guys who robbed the bank were driving recklessly on the streets as people were dodging to get out of the way to avoid getting hit.

"Man, with all this yen, we can retire for better lives!" One guy said.

"Damn right boss, Haha!" The other said, but then they stopped. "What the hell?" He asked, he then saw his boss looking terrified. "What's up boss?"

"The boss pointed to the front, and when the goon saw what was out there, he was shocked as well, for what they saw was a large red humanoid man in green and black with four arms holding the truck.

"Sorry guys, but your transactions have been canceled." He said as he ripped the door opened and pulled the guys out, both of them feeling frightened.

"We'll do anything you want, just please don't eat us." The man whimpered. The four-armed humanoid smirked.

"I ain't gonna eat you." He said, as then he slammed the men to the ground and they got knocked out. "But I WILL leave you to the cops." He said, just then he heard some mummers, people were staring at him with looks ranging from awe to shock.

"What the...?" One woman said, the man sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Well...goodbye!" He said awkwardly as he jumped in the air far away.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

After Ben stopped that robbery he went back to the house to cook up some lunch for everybody, Ben never cooked before, so he just decided to wing it. He made bowls of Ramen for everyone with egg and ham in it. He was setting the gable and waiting patiently for everyone. He was thinking back to the robbery and thought. There hasn't been that much crime recently, it was only that robbery, plus he stopped that woman from getting killed by those thugs a few days ago. Ben just sighed to himself and thought that it wasn't' so bad. He loved saving people, but he felt relaxed at the thought of no crime so far.

At this point, he heard the door sliding open.

"We're home!" Yuka called out.

"Nyu!" Nyu called out. Thye all walked to the dining room to see Ben smiling and sitting down.

"Welcome back y'all." Ben said. Prompting the others to look confused when he said that

"Y'all?" Kouta asked confusingly.

"It's...I'll explain later, anyway, hope you all bought some appetites because I made some Ramen." He said, then he's confident grin because kinda sheepish. "I never really made it myself, so I hope it is good."

"I bet it'll tastes yummy." Mayu said with a smile on her face. Everyone sat down at their perspective spots, but first, they had to give thanks or the food first

"Itadakimasu!" They all said together (minus Nyu) and they began to eat. Ben was sweating nervously. Would they like it? Would they spit it out? He was nervous. He then saw them take teh noodles in their mouths and their eyes widened, and Ben immediately put his head down.

"I know, it sucks." He said a little dejectedly. He was expecting them to yell aobut how sucky it tasted, but what he heard next surprised him.

"NYU!" Ben looked up to see Nyu looking with her eyes sparkling and her immediately digging right back into he food. Kouta looekd over and smiled at him.

"Ben, this is delicious." He said with a smile. Ben then smiled a bit and looked over at Mayu, who was blushing as she was eating.

"So yummy.." She said softly. Yuka tapped Ben on the shoulder.

"Ben...you're ramen is so good." She said with enthusiasm. Ben was smiling at them and himself.

"Thanks guys." He said as they all happily ate together

Later on in the day. Ben was sitting down in the chairs by the window and think ing aobut what he saw in Mayu's diary. Could he ask her aobut it? I mean sure he shouldn't have done it, but he just wanted to know why she ran away. As Ben was sighing over this he felt a tap on his shoulder, he looekd up to see Mayu giving him a small smile.

"Hey Ben, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Just sitting down and thinking aobut something. Want to sit down with me?" He asked.

"Mmmhmm," Mayu said as she sat down with him. Ben was looking at Mayu's smiling face. Her face spoke of purity and innocence, how could her mother abandon he child like that? And how could a STEPFATHER do something so awful to her? Ben was looking at her and sighing.

"Ben? What's wrong?" Mayu asked concerningly. Ben looked at her seriously.

"Mayu...can I ask you something?" He took notice that Mayu's smile had faced and it was replaced by a nervous frown.

"Uhh, ok." She said, albeit nervously.

"Mayu, do you think you can keep a secret?"

"Uhh...sure." She said uncertainly.

"Mayu, I'm serious. I am not mad at you or nothing, but I od know something aobut you." That's when Mayu's face became one of panic.

"What? No...you mean..."

"I looked through your diary today while I was making your futon. I know I should not have, but I just wanted to know why you ran away. Mayu, please believe me when-" Mayu immediately backed away.

"You're going to take me back..arent you?" She asked while breathing heavily. Ben widened his eyes.

"No! God no. I do not have any plans to do that, but tell me where they live?" He asked.

"Wh-why?" Mayu asked, calming down a bit.

"They hurt you. Your stepfather did horrible things to you, and your mom didn't even stop him. You're own MOM!" Bem said as he was feeling some tears coming out of his eyes. "I never have seen anyone with a horrible family like that before in my life, and this was a fist for me." Ben then wiped some tears and breathed. "Mayu, I know I only met you and all, but you are like a little sister to me, your face speaks of purity, kindness, and innocence. I want to protect you from anything or anybody just like him."

Mayu looekd at Ben with widened eyes. He...saw her as a little sister? Mayu was shocked at what he said to her, but then again. For the short time she has met him, he was kind, sweet, and trustworthy. She had her doubts when he mentioned going through her diary, but hearing what he told her, she was calm about it. At about the same time, she immediately hugged him and returned the hug.

"I promise, I won't let anything or anyone harm you Mayu." Ben softly told her, causing her to whimper as tears came out of her eyes again.

"Thank you...Ben." She said while tears still fell out of her eyes. She let go of Ben and Ben wiped her tears away with a napkin.

"Now tell me...where are they?" He asked her. She tried to calm her elf down, but she just couldn't stop crying. "Mayu, just relax ok?" He said to her. She rubbed her eyes and she sniffed as she told him about it. "Good." He said as she got up and grabebd his jacket.

"Ben?" Mayu asked. "How will you get there?" She asked. Ben looekd back and smirked

"I have my ways." He said he then went out the door. Mayu looked back and smiled softly.

" _Ben...you are kind. If you are serious aobut me being like a little sister...I hope...you wouldn't and if I thought of you as an older brother._ " She thought.

( _Eyecatch of Ben as Four Arms looking out over Kamakura_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Ben and Mayu sharing a slice of chocolate cake and laughing_ )

_Mayu's Old Home_

The stepfather was sitting on the couch irritated, not only did Mayu getaway but now since she was gone, he was horny as hell. His wife was nothing compared to his stepdaughter and it ticked him off.

"Who the hell does that little bitch think she is?" He asked as he gritted his teeth together as he rubbed the mark on his face to where he got hit. "I will find her, and when I do, she is going to get a severe punishment." He thought as he smiled wickedly and pervertedly. At this time suddenly, the door to the house came crashing right through and spooked him. He quickly turned around to see a large red hulking man with four muscular arms approaching him. The stepfather looekd nervous. but he remained calm.

"And who are you supposed to be?" He asked. Teh man narrowed his four yellow eyes at the stepfather.

"My name is not important, what's important..."

**CRACK**

"Is me kicking your ass." He said cracking his knuckles.

"Wha-?" But eh stepfather didn't get enough time to react as the man punched teh stepfather rin the gut, then punched him in the face, and finally in the back.

Four Arms was not using all of his strength, he was trying not to, but the things he aw in Mayu's diary, was getting his blood boiling. He looked down to see the stepfather looking up at him as he was coughing blood.

"Wh-why are you doing this?" He asked. "Do you want money? You can have it." He said. Four Arms sneered at him.

"I don't want your money, you pathetic piece of shit!" Four Arms said as he kicked the stepfather in the gut, causing him to howl in pain. "You hurt someone, and that was shitty for what you did." He said angrily as he grabbed Mayu's father by the throat and brought him up to his eye level.

"The only reason why I ain't killing you is that I am not like that, but this compares nothing to the pain you caused Mayu." Four Arms said.

"Mayu?" The Stepfather said surprised.

"Yea...the daughter...YOU RAPED, YOU GODAMN PIECE OF SHIT!" Four Arms yelled out angrily as he tossed teh stepfather over to teh side of the room, knocking him out cold. Four Arms walked over and sneered at him.

"I am not going to kill you because it wouldn't do it justice, but I am warning you right now." Ben said as the stepfather opened his eyes and Four Arms looekd right into his soul. "You ever go near Mayu again, I will put you in the hospital, GOT IT?!"

"Y-yes." The stepfather said fearfully while coughing up more blood. "I promise you, she will never hear from me."

"Good." Four Arms said as he then delivered a swift chop to the neck at the stepfather's throat, knocking him out. Four Arms pressed the Omnitrix dial on his chest and turned back into Ben, who was now breathing to calm himself down.

"Now all I gotta do is call the cops and his ass will be hauled off to jail." Ben said. As he was looking aorund for a phone, he came across Mayu's room. Out of curiosity, he went inside to see that it was just like any other girl's room. He noticed that she still had some clothes in her closet, after searching around and finding a suitcase, he started to pack her things up. Ben then had another thought. The cops would probably not believe him aobut what happened to Mayu, so he went into the parent's room and started to look around for some answers.

Ben was searching and he saw a picture of Mayu, her mother, and another man who didn't look like that bastard stepfather. Ben frowned a little bit, this must be when they were happier, but then that bastard stepfather came and ruined it. Ben had deiced that he would not warn the mother as Yuka told him that they were going to meet her to adopt Mayu. Much to Bens's relief.

As Ben was still searching around, he came across a weird looking stack of pictures on a table, and he went over to look over them, and when he did...well let's not go into it.

"Got the evidence I need to put this sick bastard away for life." Ben said as he looked at the stepfather and glared at him angrily and hatefully. " _Too bad I don't have a Null Void projector with me, if I did, then I would have his ass sent into the Null Void._ " He thougth angrily

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben had made it back to Maple Inn a few hours later. And when he opened the door, he was glomped by a happy Nyu.

"Woah Nyu." Ben said surprised.

"Ben," Ben turned to see Yuka standing at the entranceway with her arms crossed and giving him a stern look that made him nervous. "Where have you been?"

"Sorry, I was out getting stuff for Mayu." He half-lied. Yuka seemed surprised and sighed.

"Well, at least tell us where you are going next time ok?" She said giving him a small smile

"I promise." Ben said he looked to see Nyu giving him a big smile. "You missed me that much huh?" He asked with amusement, NYu then scurried off to another part of the house and he then looked over at Yuka. "So how did teh adoption go?"

"Weird to be honest, when we met her and asked her aobut it, she seemed totally fine with it." Yuka said. "I mean usually a parent would be usually against giving their kid off to a total stranger you know?"

"Mmmhmm, but we do know that Mayu will be happier here." He said with a smile.

"I totally agree." Yuka said returning the smile. She looekd at the suitcase and ha da look of confusion on her face. "You bought stuff for Mayu in a suitcase?"

"Don't bother asking Yuka." Ben said as he walked to Mayu's room, Yuka gave him a confused look but shrugged her shoulders. Ben went to the room's door and knocked on it.

"Who is it?" Mayu asked from the other side.

"Room service." Ben called out. The door opened and Mayu saw Ben and gave him a small smile.

"Oh, hi Ben..." Mayu said nervously as Ben entered her room.

"Mayu, what's wrong?"

"It's just...you know my secret...on why I ran away..and well."

"Mayu," Ben said as he looked into her eyes. "If you don't want me to tell anyone, I promise not to tell a soul."

"Promise?" Mayu asked. Ben stuck his pinky out.

"Pinky promise." Mayu smiled a bit and wrapped her pinky aorund his. "Oh and by the way, while I was at your house I got you these." Ben then opened up the suitcase and showed her all fo her clothes. Much to her surprise. "I was able to get the clothes you left behind." He said with a smile. Mayu grabbed a pink dress and she was starting to cry again.

"Come here Mayu." Ben softly said as he held out his arms, Mayu immediately ran over and gave the boy a loving affectionate hug and sniffled into his shirt. "Also, I saw that ...jerk today, I promise, he will never hurt you again. Not while I'm here." He whispered.

"Thank you...Big Brother." Mayu whimpered. Ben was surprised but then smiled as he and his little sister figure continued their hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...so much emotions coming from that, Ben tracked down Mayu's stepfather and kicked his ass. I was hoping that Mayu's stepfather got killed by Bando in the story because we never see him again after the flashback and stuff. But he got his ass handed to him on a silver platter, and the next stop is jail time. Also, we see that Mayu and Ben see each other as older-younger siblings and that Ben will protect Mayu, I am going to enjoy writing scenes with them together in the future.
> 
> Now I know I said I was going to continued the plot with this chapter, and it was my intention after the stepfather got his ass handed to him, but after seeing how many words I was typing I decided to wait till next time and THEN, I will get to the part aobut the school. I absolutely promise you all that next time, Ben WILL be at school. I promise :) I was not being lazy, I just thought that if I decided to add the school scenario after then the chapter would have been too long
> 
> Anyways, don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you all and happy to answer any questions you might have. See you all next time :)


	7. School Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so as we saw last time. Ben found out why Mayu ran away, and he went to her house and he beat teh hell out of that horrible man and he left his ass to be handed off to the cops. What's Ben going to get himself into in this chapter? Let's find out, so sit back, grab your popcorn, and let's begin :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

After a few days, it was time for school for Kouta, Yuka, and Ben. Mayu has been going to the local school for a while and has been loving it. Mayu was all dressed in a typical Japanese schoolgirl sailor suit, with her shirt being white with her collar being blue with white stripes, her tie being red, the end of her leaves was blue as well, and her shirt was all blue. Mayu was currently looking at Ben.

"how do I look?" She asked. Ben smiled.

"Amazing." He simply said, Mayu smiled and walked out with him, also Nyu was outside with Wanta. Mayu looekd back as she was heading to the door.

"I'll see you all later!" She said as she walked out.

"Nyu!" Nyu said happily as she waved.

"Have fun squirt." Ben smiled as he waved as well. Ben smiled, after a few days, Mayu has been more cheerful, but he knows that something like that could still being bad memories, but it wouldn't matter, as long as he was here, he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He looked down to see Nyu, Nyu was wearing a blue shirt, with a navy blue sweater over it, as he was also wearing white boots and a green skirt, and she had some ribbons tied in her hair to hid teh horns.

" _Dang it, she is just so adorable!_ " Ben thougth as he was blushing again. Nyu was looking up and looking at him confusingly.

"Nyu?" Ben immediately shook his head and smiled nervously.

"Sorry, about that Nyu, I guess I lost focus." He said, trying to play it cool. Nyu still looekd at him, prompting an awkward silence. "So..see you in a bit." He said as he went back inside.

He calmed down a bit and went into the dining area, where he saw Yuka locking up and Kouta on the floor. Yuka turned back and smiled at Ben.

"Oh Ben, you mind helping me lock up." She said she then glared at Kouta. "Because of a _certain someone_ doesn't want to." Ben sighed and smiled.

"No problem Yuka." He said, he looekd over at Kotua and had a mischievous smile on his face. "Kouta, there's a spider on your back." He said. This prompted Kotua to quickly get up.

"NANI?" He shouted as he quickly got up and backed into the wall. Ben was stifling so hard, and after a few minutes, she broke down.

"Ha, oh man, you should have seen your face dude." Kouta looked at Ben with a glare, he then turned to Yuka and she smirked.

"Serves you right, for sleeping." She said as she started to lock up the windows. Kouta sighed and helped out. Yuka saw Mayu leaving earlier and smiled. "you know, it's nice to see that Mayu has become more open, hopefully, the school has been helping her a lot."

I agree with you on that one." Ben said smiling, he remembered that after her first day. Mayu was happy and she told everyone all about it, and they were happy that she was smiling more.

"But something still doesn't make sense to me." Kouta said. "Her mother just let us adopt her on the spot, I mean parents would usually be hesitant to hand their child off to total strangers." He said

"Yea...plus she didn't seem like she reported it to the police." Yuka said.

Ben, however, was grumbling under his breath, he was glad Mayu's mom no longer her guardian. Better here than with a mother who ignored her as she was molested by her stepfather. The thougth of it was making Ben angry again, but he breathed and tried to calm himself down.

"Wonder what her story is." Kouta said, as Yuka nodded in agreement, Ben knew what happened but he promised her that he would not tell.

"You're the one who said that we shouldn't ask questions." Yuka reminded him.

"Yea..." He said in thought, Yuka then gave him a stern look

"Well, you can't bring in any more girls." She said Ben snapped out of his anger and looekd at her as if she was crazy.

"It's not like I am bringing in girls just because I want to you know." He told her.

"Let's not argue please." Ben said. "We got to finish locking up and head to school." He said. "Nyu! we're leaving!" He called out. As he was walling out Kouta was looking at Ben oddly.

"You know, I kinda wonder what Ben's story is like as well, like how he even got here." Kouta said to Yuka, who promptly nodded her head in approval as well.

* * *

_University_

The four teens walked to the university together, and when they got here, Ben looked in awe. Whoever designed this building was a genius.

"Now remember Nyu," Kouta began. "You have to keep that bow on a t all times ok?"

"Nyu!" She said.

"And you aren't going to say Nyu?"

"Yes!" She said. Yuka turned back with a grin.

"Nu is learning, one by one, sh is picking up a few words" Kout and to Nyu with questionable look.

"You think she would know our names by now though, I mean so far she knows Ben's name but not ours."

"Just wait a little while." Yuka said as she started walking, with the other three following her. Ben looked to see Nyu and was blushing a bit at her appearance, he couldn't help it she just looked so cute. When she turned to look at him, he quickly turned his gaze to the ground.

Now they were sitting inside their classroom, it was now recess in between classes so they were conversing with themselves for the time being. So far Ben thought that this University was good, he was still new but Yuka and Kouta were there to help him out. Now in this room, they were sitting down with Kouta sitting on the left, Yuka next to him, Ben in between Yuka and Nyu, and Nyu sitting next to Ben and smiling. Yuka turned to Kouta and Ben

"I heard that this professor was kind of a weirdo." She said as Kouta was yawning. "He has a habit of calling on people on the first day. So if-"

"YES!" Nyu called out loud happily, prompting the three to look at her.

"Nyu gets called on or Ben gets called on, then we're in trouble."

"Hopefully we shouldn't let that happen then." Ben said determinedly, with Yuka smiling at him and nodding her head.

"Hey, Yuka?" Kouta asked. Yuka looked at him with a mild blush, with Ben looking confused about it. "You know, I thought you were smart, but you can't be can you?" He asked. Yuka scoffed and Ben looked at him as if to say. "Are you crazy?"

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Yuka asked in an offended tone. To which Kouta didn't notice.

"Well, this is a safety school, for students who got low scored on their entrance exams. Take me for instance, I barely passed." He said with a sheepish smile. Ben was thinking about this, a school for people who did poorly on entrance exams, Kout a must have applied for some colleges and didn't do go good on their entrance exams, interesting. Yuka, however, put her had down that her hair was covering her eyes.

"I turned down all of my first school choices." She said softly, but it was loud enough for Ben and Kouta to hear much tot heir surprise.

"You did?" Kouta asked.

"Yes, yes, it's true. I AM EVERY BIT AS DUMB AS YOU ARE KOUTA!" She shouted, much to Ben and Kouta's surprise, the students sitting aorund them were giving them weird looks, to which Ben noticed.

"Ok, ok," Kouta said trying to calm her down.

"Sorry about that everyone," Ben said while calmly waving his hands. "Her and he just got into a little argument." He said trying to get them to stop looking at them funnily

"YES!" Nyu said happily raising her hand. Ben sighed and looked back.

"She agrees with me." He said with a small smile. Kouta and Yuka both blushed out of embarrassment. At this point everything settled down as the teacher, Kakuzawa came in, he looked to be around his early 30's, had stubble on his chin, and was wearing a pink dress shirt and wore a white lab coat with a blue tie that was halfway up, he also wore brown pants and shoes.

"In 1952, Miller created a water-soluble compound...Now you." He said approaching one student, prompting the student o look up in confusion. "What was the reason Miller had based this compound on a tungsten electrode?"

"Uh, I don't know sir." The student said sheepishly.

"Hmmm, then anyone else wants to try?" He asked the class.

" _No thank you_." Ben thought in hsi head, he was looking over to see that Nyu was putting her hand up, but it was too late for him to stop her.

"YES!" Nyu called out happily.

" _Dang it!_ " Ben thought as Yuka and Kouta looked at her horrified.

"You idiot!" Kouta whispered, prompting Bent to send a small glare at him a bit. Kakuzawa turned his head to face the group and when he saw Nyu, his eyes winded with shock. This was something that Ben noticed and was trying to figure out...could he have seen her horns?

"Impossible...she is right here." He said, Ben, didn't here, however. Kouta then got up and smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, it's just that our friend hasn't been her self recently." Kouta said getting up, with Yuka getting nu up and Ben starting to get up.

"Yea, we will just take her home right away." Yuka said as well.

"Yea, sorry aobut that everybody." Ben called out to the whole classroom. As the four were aobut to leave, the professor stopped them.

"Hod it." He said, prompting them to stop after taking a few steps. "I am calling off today's lesson, you four come with me." He said. Prompting Kouta, Yuka, and Ben to have a nervous expression on their faces.

" _Crap!_ " they all thought.

* * *

_University/Office_

The four were now in Professor Kakauzawa's office. With Kouta, Yuka, and Ben facing him and Nyu just looking aorund.

"You're friend's name is Lucy, my brother's child." He told them, causing them to be taken aback by this.

" _Really?_ " Ben thought. The professor sighed.

"So you're telling me that you all found her naked on a beach? And that you took her home with you without calling the police?" He asked.

"It seemed bad, but that's because we thought that someone was after her." Kouta explained.

"Yea, we saw a wound on the side of her head, so we assumed she was being hunted by someone or something." Ben said in his defense. The professor looked up at them.

"Do you know what you did? Kidnapping and abducting a minor, these are indisputable crimes!"

"Hey now," Ben said, a little ticked off and offended at him and his friends being accused of a crime like that. "We rescued her!"

"He's right!" Yuka said. The professor sighed a little bit.

"I'll look after her now." He told them.

"Huh?" Kouta asked.

"But why?" Yuka asked.

Ben was silently thinking that this was bound to happen sooner or later, her family must be worried. He knew that it was the right thing to do.

"Isn't it obvious? She has been missing for weeks, her family has been worried sick." The professor said to them.

"We understand, but please let us explain." Yuka said, but the professor wasn't having any of it.

"She lost her memory and she has language difficulties." He told them. Kouta put his head down, Yuka backed down a bit, and Ben didn't say anything. "You should understand, we have to return her so she can get treatment." He told them. Ben sighed, knowing that it was time for her to go.

"Because you rescued her, I won't report you three, just head on home and leave the rest to me." He told them Yuka, however, was not giving up.

"But wait! You have to listen to our side!" She said.

"Yuka..." Ben said putting his hand on her shoulder. "He's right, we did all we can do. It's best to just leave it as it is." He said.

"Ben? You can't be serious! Kouta?" Yuka turned to see Kouta's head down.

"I understand..." Kouta said. Yuka looekd at him with surprise.

"You too Kouta?" She thought.

"Nyu...no, the girl we found. Please take good care of her." He told the professor as he then bowed at him. He turned back to see Nyu, who was playing with a toy, Yuka was looking at her as well and so was Ben. Ben was feeling a lot of emotions, sadness being the main thing, he had to calm himself down before losing it. Kout astarted to walk out.

"Kouta!" Yuka called out. Nyu took notice and dropped the frog.

"Nyu!" she said with a smile, but as she was about o leave, the professor stopped her and held on to her shoulder. Nyu looked up in confusion before worriedly turning towards Kouta, Yuka, and Ben. Kouta turned to face her with a sad look on his face.

"Take care, Nyu." He said as he walked out the door. Nyu was worrying now worried and distressed and resisting The professor's hands and she reached out to him. Yuka was looking back and forth as she then stepped outside.

"KOUTA!" Nyu shouted. This prompted Kouta to stop walking and gasp, Yuka turned back with surprise and Ben, who was still in the room looked at her and smiled a bit, she learned a new word and it was Kouta's name. Nyu was still shouting Kouta's name and Ben could see the tears flowing in her eyes. It was a sad sight, and Ben was gripping hsi fists tightly resisting the urge to just grab her and take her, but he knew he couldn't do that. He was a superhero after all and he would not ruin his name and morals by doing such a crime, plus he didn't want her family to be more worried than they already are.

Kouta was gripping onto his bag uncomfortably as he started to walk further away. Yuka gasped as she shook her head as she followed him. Ben saw this and knew he had to go with them, as he was aobut to leave something grab his hand, he turned to see Nyu. Tears in her eyes and was looking at him as if to say. "Please don't leave me."

Ben sighed and grabbed her hand and looked at the professor. "Would it be alright if I said goodbye to her please?"

"Fine, but don' be too long." The professor told him. Ben nodded and took Nyu's hand.

"Nyu, listen to me ok? You are going to go home now."

"Nyu?" She asked as tears still flowed in her eyes.

"No I mean your real home, with your real family, Nyu you have been one of the greatest people I have met before, and just to clarify it, I want to give you something..." He said, he was nervous and his hand was shaking, which Nyu noticed. Ben quickly leaned in close and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. He back up to see that Nyu was still crying, but was also blushing. The professor looked surprised as well. Ben was at the door but turned back to look at her sadly.

"Goodbye Nyu, I'll miss you." He said softly as he walked to go catch up with Kouta and Yuka. And then he heard something from Nyu that made him feel even more upset.

"BEEEEEEN!" She shouted. Ben then sprinted out of the university, tears running down his face.

( _Eyecatch of Ben looking sadly into the sky_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Nyu thinking aobut both Kouta and Ben_ )

_Kamakura/Stone Steps_

Kouta, Yuka, and Ben were all standing on stone steps that were looking down on the town and the ocean.

"Sorry for dragging you both up here." Kouta said to Yuka and Ben.

"It's alright." She said.

"It's just...i had suddenly had this feeling to just come up here." Kout said as he was looking out into the distance.

"You always liked this area haven't you?" Yuka asked softly.

"It is a nice view." Ben said, trying to keep calm, but his hands were still trembling.

"I..."Kouta then put his head down. "I couldn't say anything back to that jerk...we shouldn't have taken her home isn't it?"

"Well, as you said, you found her with wound and she was just saying "Nyu" she probably couldn't be able to give us her family number so that we could call them or something," Ben said. He did have a point because she was just saying Nyu, she wouldn't have been able to give them her home phone number so they could call her family.

"I guess, it is different then Mayu's situation." Yuka said. Ben nodded his head in agreement.

"But Nyu will happier right?" Kouta asked. "Because she will be going back to her real home."

"She was only with us for a littel while, but it was fun having her around," Yuka said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Nyu will be happier, and I agree with Yuka, it was fun having her around," Ben said, he was secretly wishing she didn't leave yet so soon. He has been questioning his feelings for her. And seeing her leave so soon, it was just...so sudden. He couldn't' help but let some tears fall from his eyes. He heard some sobbing and turned to see Kouta, who had his head down as he had his hand over his face as he sobbed.

"Kouta! Why re you crying? You're a man aren't you?" Yuka asked, she was trying to reprimand him, but even she couldn't help but sob too. "Men aren't supposed to cry, and if you start crying..." Yuka's hard expression turned soft and her voice started to crack up. "I'm going to start." At this point, Yuka had finally sobbed and leaned into Kouta's shoulder.

Ben was also crying as his hand was over his face and tears were running down. Yuka saw this and brought him in for a group hug as they all cried together.

* * *

_University/Basement_

Professor Kakuzawa was looking at a skeleton of a brain that showed a large mass in the frontal lobe, as he was also drawing a chemical from a bottle into a syringe.

"The huge penial gland that occupies a Dinlonius's frontal lobe. That is the central foundation that can control vectors. IT's possible..but who would have ever guessed that her personality and intelligence have split." He said she then turned to a frightened Nyu, who was stripped from her clothing and was tied by her hands that were hanging from the ceiling, she had no idea what was going on, but she was terrified and scared. Where was Kouta? Yuka? Ben? Mayu? Why rent they coming fro her?

Kakuzawa smirked at her. "No wonder they can't find you, you can only get noticed if you kill someone. And you have extraordinary skill in that regard." He said as he walked over to her, syringe in hand. "Lucy, isn't this wonderful? We can finally end the 150 thousand years of human history." He said with a grin. Nyu had tears coming out of her eyes and she was still confused and scared.

"Do not worry,m you shall be asleep for a while, and once you wake up, you and I shall become the Adma and Eve of the new mankind, and you shall bear my spawn." He said Nyu was still scared as only two thoughts came to mind.

" _Ben...Kouta...save Nyu!_ "

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Mayu was outside setting some food for Wanta, who was resting in hsi littel dog house. She then smiled as the door opened to see The teen walking towards the house.

"Oh hey everyone!" She said with a smile, but her smile turned into a confused frown as she looekd to ee that they were missing someone. "Where's Nyu?" She asked, Kout walked by her and said nothing as Mayu looekd with concern. "What's wrong?" Yuka walked up to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry, Mayu. We'll tell you later." She said as she followed Kouta into the house. Mayu looekd to see Ben, who looked at her and ruffled her hair as he gave a sad smile and walked as well, leaving Mayu puzzled.

Later on, during Dinner time, they ere all sitting down. Ben looekd over at the vacant spot where Nyu would sit and he sighed. God how he missed that adorable face of hers.

"So that's what happened..I wish I would have said goodbye to her." Mayu said sadly.

"Sorry, it happened while you were at school Mayu." Ben said.

"It's fine." She said sipping her tea, then a thought came to mind as she turned to Kouta. "Can't we visit her sometimes?" Kouta sighed and looekd down.

"We can't, they think we're kidnappers." He said in glume.

"Which pisses me off a bit." Ben said. "I mean we thought she was being hunted by someone, and they think we kidnapped her? So much for a 'thank you'" Ben said with some anger in his voice.

"Easy Ben." Yuka said patting him on the arm. Mayu stared ahead thoughtfully as another thought came to her mind.

"Well..do you think he was telling the truth?" She asked. Kouta, Yuka, and Ben looked shocked by the question but stared at the younger girl with confused looks. "I mean, the family story sounds kinda odd." She said as she then drank some of her soup. Kouta, Yuka, and Ben were all thinking about the possibility, they did see that the professor was acting kinda odd about it. Normally a family member would be happy at seeing their relatively safe and would be grateful, but Kakuzawa just acted like it was a huge deal.

"Well," Yuka began. "he was acting strange. Like I said before, people have said that Professor Kakuzawa is a little weird."

Kouta then stared at both Yuka and Ben. "Hey, why don't we find Kakuzawa and see what is going on, you know, for Nyu's sake."

"Yea, I agree with you dude." Ben said with a small smile.

"Yea, we owe it to her." Yuka said. Both Kouta and Ben were thinking aobut what Mayu said and was growing intense, Ben remembered that Kakuzawa called her Lucy, but he can't remember where he heard that name before.

* * *

_University/Basement_

Kakuzawa was now looking at Nyu, who was now unconscious and on the ground, and he was smiling as he was undoing his tie.

"Now, let us get started." He said.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Mayu was now in her pajamas ad staring out to Ben, Kouta, and Yuka.

"I'm going to bed now, Goodnight." She said while bowing.

"Goodnight Mayu." Kouta said.

"Sleep tight." Yuka said.

"Have a good night squirt." Ben said to her prompting her to blush and smile at her big brother figure as she then closed the door. All of them then sat in silence, not saying a word. Ben, however, was still processing what Mayu had said, could she be telling the truth? Could Kakuzawa be lying? His thoughts were interrupted by Yuka.

"Hey, Kouta? Would you..if I was to run away like Nyu..woudl you cry for me?" She asked hesitatingly. Kouta look sat her with a confused loo,k and so did Ben. Kouta then glanced to the side.

"What do you mean? I didn't because I wanted to, you know?" He asked harshly.

"Kouta, no need to be harsh." Ben reprimanded him. "It's just a simple question." Kouta ignored Ben and got up.

"I'm going to bed." He said as he walked to the door.

"Ok well-" but Yuka didn't get to finish as Kouta walked out. "Good...night." She said with some sadness in her voice. Ben saw this and went over to her.

"Yuka, don't be mad at him, he is just upset, we all are. I'm sure he didn't mean to act like that." He said. Yuka looked at him with a sad look and hugged him.

"Thank you Ben." She softly said as Ben hugged her back. Ben then got up.

"I'm going to head to bed as well, have a goodnight Yuka."

"You too Ben." She said as Ben opened and walked out, as he was going to his room, he saw Kouta leaning against the door.

"Don't ask..stupid questions like that." Kouta said softly, Ben frowned a bit at what he said, but he could understand how Kouta was feeling. Ben walked to his room and sat down and thought about Nyu, and tears came out of hsi eyes again.

"Nyu...I think...I think..." He struggled to say, but he was just too sad and upset to even think about it, he put his face into hsi pillow and cried. " _I'm such a frekaing idiot._ " he thought

* * *

_University Basement_

Kakuzawa was starting to undo the buttons to his shirt as he was smirking as Nyu was still knocked out and sprawled on the floor.

"I knew I had plans of collecting her, but never would I imagine that we would be meeting like this. Seems like the heavens have chosen me instead of my father" He then turned aorund to be surprised tath Nyu was now there anymore. He stepped back anxiously and scanned the room for any sight of her. After a few minutes of silence, Nyu had finally arisen nearby, teh professor looking surprised.

"You're supposed to be asleep." He said. Nyu got up and look at the floor.

"The other one is asleep, but I'm awake." She said. When she looekd up, she gave off that familiar aura around her, Nyu was asleep..nad Lucy had awakened. Lucy looked over at Kakuzawa and narrowed her eyes at him. "Who are you?" Kakuzawa arched back a bit.

"Woah hold on a minute Lucy. I'm on your side Lucy, I was teh one who released you at the Institute."

Lucy then flashbacked to when hse had escaped, the doors mysteriously opened, and she now knew who the one who opened them was, and he was standing in the same room as her.

"My father and I are researching teh same thing, but unlike him, I have no plans to restrain you, that's why I released you from the Institute because you are faithful to your orders from your DNA! That is to exterminate all the humans and prosper from it. Together, we can cleanse the world of the old mankind and start another, this time with Diclonius as the main dominant species. Don't you see it? It's brilliant." Butt hen the glass behind him started to crack and it shattered right behind him.

"They're back." Lucy said as Kakuzawa looked at her with worry.

"Wait! Lucy, I'm not your enemy, we're allies." He stood up slowly, but Lucy did not seem impressed by his words. Instead, she scoffed.

"Allies? You are nothing more than a foolish primate."

"Your wrong!" Kakuzawa said loudly as he then reached for his head and removed the toupee that was hiding his bald head but was interesting, was that there were HORNS. Horns on his head too, but they didn't resemble the ones that other Diclonius had thought. Kakuzawa sighed smiled at her. "You and I belong to the same race." He said. Lucy lifted her head a little to see him, but her expression was unreadable.

"But the only proof I have to show for it is the pair of horns on my head. but it is much different for you. You are he pure one I have been wait-" but he didn't get to finish because his head came right off, with blood flowing like a geyser and getting on the walls, his body and head fell and she looked at it.

"I don't need someone like you..." She said hatefully. As she was looking to get her clothes back on, she began to think aobut two people who she was interested in.

Kouta, the boy from her childhood who wasn't to apologize to him for what she had done to him in the past. And Ben Tennyson, who had defeated her and had the ability to transform into different beasts.

" _I still need to apologize to Kouta..or at least try to...and that boy...Tennyson...what is he exactly?_ " She thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is that everyone. So we got to see Ben go to school with Kouta and the others. And they are very suspicious about Kakuzawa, also Lucy has awakened for another time and killed him, along with that, she also now has Ben on her mind, what is she thinking about?
> 
> Also, I just want to say that I hope you are all enjoying this story so far. I am really enjoying writing it and I hope you are all liking it.
> 
> Anyway, please do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you all and happy to answer any questions you might have.


	8. Search for Nyu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so last time Lucy killed Kakuzawa, and now the residents of Maoe Inn are feeling down aobut it, but the people who were affected the most were Kouta and Ben. Now Lucy is out in the streets somewhere, will hse kill again? We shall have to wait and see.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

Ben was still in his room laying down, he had stopped crying. But his mind was still on Nyu, and he was still thinking about what Mayu said about Kakuzawa lying, he was acting strange. Ben was going to get to the bottom of it. As he was walking out of his room, he saw Kouta and Yuka right by the door.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"I'm still worried about Nyu." Kouta said as she was facing the door. "I am going to go talk to the professor."

"Don't you think it is kind of late thought?" Ben asked. Of course, Ben was worried about Nyu as well, but it kinda was late, so maybe the professor was asleep or something.

"It isn't that late, I am hoping that Professor Kakuzawa is still around." Kouta said.

"then Ben and I will come with you." Yuka said, with Ben nodding in agreenment

"No, don't. I think it'll be safer if I went alone." Kouta said, Yuka looked a little hurt. "Besides, your hair is still wet, I don't want you to catch a cold. And I need Ben to stay here and hold down the fort."

Ben gripped his hands tightly and looked at Kouta with determination. "Kouta, I am coming with you whether you like it or not. I know you want to go alone, but Nyu is my friend too, don't act like your the only one upset by this." Kouta didn't say anything but sighed.

"Fine then. Yuka, I promise, we will be fine. Let's go, Ben."

"Ok," Ben said as he was about to walk out, he saw Yuka looking down. Ben came up and put his hand on her shoulder. "He just doesn't want you to get hurt, We'll back soon, we promise."

Yuka looked at him and gave a sad smile. "Ok, just be careful you two."

"We will." Ben said as he followed Kouta out of the house. Yuka was still looking at the ground.

" _Kouta...why can't you be nice like Ben...you jerk._ " She thought.

* * *

_Kakuzawa's office_

Doctor Arakawa, Professor Kakuzawa's assistant had arrived at his office with a bag of instant ramen

"Good evening sir." She said, she then looked aorund to see that he wasn't her and sighed.

"Oh great, he asks me to come, and yet he isn't here...I didn't even have time to draw myself a bath." She complained as she then put the bag down, and something of interest caught her eye, it was Nyu's ribbon, that had been left behind. She crouched down and picked it up to inspect it. "A ribbon? that's weird." She said. As she was inspecting the ribbon, the door opened up and as she turned around to see how it was, she was startled by Kouta and Ben.

"Oh, we're so sorry." Kouta said apologizing. Arakawa was now on her feet as she was leaning on a table trying to catch her breath.

"For god's sake, you both nearly scared me half to death! What are you both doing here?"

Ben looekd at her apologetically. "First of all, we're sorry for startling you, guess we should've knocked first. Also, we were just wondering if Professor Kakuzawa was still here." He asked her.

Arakawa calmed down a bit as her eyes widened with curiosity. "You both want to see him? This time at night?" she asked. Ben rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Well, kind of..." He said nervously.

Arakawa got up and sighed. "I see...well the professor should be downstairs int he basement." She said as she went to the door.

"Basement?" Kouta asked.

"Yea, there's a laboratory down there, whenever the professor wants to shut himself out? That's where he usually goes." she said to them. "Just follow me." She said and they both followed her

* * *

_University/Basement_

Arakawa was in front of them as the boys were following her behind.

" _Nyu...please be down here...please._ " Ben was mentally pleading to himself, if Nyu was already gone, he would never forgive himself.

"So what exactly do you both need to see the professor about?" She asked them.

"Well, there was this lost girl we found, and we left her with him so he can look after her." Ben said.

Arakawa chuckled. "Well, I guess there is a reason why you're both worried." She said. Ben was wondering why she chuckled but decided to push that thought aside.

"Anyway," Kouta said. "He told us that the girl was his younger brother's niece, so we..."

"you both got fooled." Arakawa said shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked suspiciously.

"He doesn't have a brother." She told them. Both Ben and Kouta went wide-eyed.

"Damn..." Kouta muttered under his breath.

" _Bastard lied to us!_ " Ben thought in anger. " _Nyu...if you're down here, I am getting you out of here._ " He thought as he glanced at his Omnitrix, which was covered up by his sleeve.

Kouta was out of his stupor to ask Arakawa what the professor was researching, something that Ben was wondering as well.

"He's researching a rare disease that can cause horns to grow out the human skull."

"Huh!" Ben said loudly, causing Arakawa to get startled.

"Stop scaring me!" She said to him. Ben then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and apologized. Arakawa sighed and leaned back on some boxes nearby. "Professor Kakuzawa is developing a vaccine that can counteract the disease." She told them.

"Huh, I never heard of a disease like that before." Kouta said.

"Yea, neither have I," Ben said. Even in Bellwood, he never heard of a disease like that amongst the different alien species.

"Well, of course, you wouldn't, it's highly contagious." She told them. "The people with symptoms are immediately quarantined. And if that happens..."

Kouta was nervous, something that Ben noticed. "Wh-what would happen?" He asked her. Arakawa hesitated for a moment, before closing her eyes and looking away.

"Here's the lab." She told them as the two boys proceeded to walk down.

* * *

_Kamakura streets_

Meanwhile, Lucy was now back in her clothes and was walking on a sidewalk, the only thing she has on her mind was Kouta and that boy Ben. Lucy wanted hard to apologize to Kouta for what she had done to him when they were younger but something always finds a way to screw her over and make it harder to do. But that wasn't the only thing, she wanted to find that boy Ben, and while she was pissed that she was beaten, by a human no doubt. But seeing him transform, this was something that intrigued her, what was he? She wanted to know. She was also wondering why whenever she thought of him, she felt her heart racing.

The only human she ever loved was Kouta, he was a good dreamt o her, the light to her whole world, that's been nothing but hellish nightmarish darkness. But whenever she saw that boy Tennyson. She feels like how she feels with Kouta, but that was crazy though...she hated humans...every last one of them, especially after what they did to her when she was younger. But there is just something about him though...what was it?

" _Why are you thinking aobut those boys?_ " A sinister voice said in her mind. Lucy frowned. " _You think that Kouta kid will forgive you? And that boy..Tennyson..he is just like the rest of them._ "

"You don't know that." Lucy said, thank god there wasn't anyone around. "Whenever I am near him..I feel something...something bright. Just like Kouta."

" _Bah!_ " The voice said. " _Sooner or later, they will betray you, just like what he did to you the first time. And that Tennyson boy...he couldn't love you, I am the only one who is here for you child._ " The voice said.

Lucy sighed as she continued walking. "Maybe..." She said softly. Lucy wanted to agree with the voice...but she was not sure, there was something about Ben that she couldn't explain.

* * *

_Laboratory_

Kouta, Arakawa, and Ben all walked inside the lab to find that it was empty, but the lights were still on.

"Huh, the lights are on, but the professor is not here." Arakawa said.

"NYU!" Kouta called out in worry. Prompting Arakawa to look confused.

"Nyu?" She asked.

"She is the girl we told you about," Ben said. "NYU? ARE YOU DOWN HERE?" Ben called out worriedly. " _Dammit, where is she?_ " He thought. At that point, Arakawa went to another door in the back of the lab.

"Professor? She asked as she opened the door, with Ben and Kouta following her close behind. They all looked aorund to see no one inside. "I wonder where he went off to." She said.

" _If that bastard took Nyu and ran off, I swear to god..._ " Ben thought as his fists were shaking. Arakawa was walking closer until her foot hit something on the ground.

"Looks like he dropped a specimen." Arakawa muttered. But then Kouta made a startled noise, prompting both Ben and Arakawa to turn to him, the latter balling her fists and looking exasperated. "What is it?! Will you please stop scaring me like that?!" She said as she breathed heavily again.

"What is it, dude?" Ben asked. Kouta whimpered as he pointed a finger in front of them. Both Ben and Arakawa turned to see Kakuzawa's bloody, beheaded corpse up against the specimen case. Ben's eyes immediately went wide, as Arakawa was shaking, she then looked to the floor to see that the 'specimen' was Kakuzawa's head.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Kouta and Arakawa screamed put in fright, as Ben couldn't say anything, but just stare in horror. Who could do such a thing? Something...so gruesome. He then noticed Arakawa was now crouched on the floor and whimpering and her hands covering her mouth, trying not to vomit, feeling that she was feeling frightened, he went over and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"This..this is how they kill! They might still be aorund here." She said as she frantically looked around. "Or worse..they got away..."

"Why did the professor have horns?" Ben asked.

"How should I know?!" She asked as she was trying to calm down. "you both asked me before about what they do to the patients after they are quarantined right?"

"Yea...why?" Kouta asked.

Arakawa was still looking at the professor's decapitated head. "They isolate and kill them." Kout and Ben both gasped back. Ben was still having a hard time thinking about this. Who ARE these people? WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON? "Because if we don't kill them. They'll kill us like this...but why does the professor have horns though?! I don't get it!"

Kouta was still shocked however and was shaking. "It can't be...Nyu..." All of a sudden he flashed back to see a young child, but only her ankles were visible and she was standing in a pool of blood as the stuff was covering her shoes as well. Kouta then felt massive pain in his head and groaned as he leaned to the door. Ben saw this and went over to check on him.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly to his friend, Kouta gave him no response as he was still holding his head and groaning. Arakawa got up and her head was now staring at the floor.

"You two go home, I'll take care of everything here. With students involved, it'll just get complicated. Just get out of here ok?" She told them in a shaky voice.

"Ok..."Kouta said calmly as his face was stricken with confusion and pain. As he and Ben were about to walk out, Arakawa grabbed Ben by the hand.

"Whatever you do, don't tell anyone what you saw tonight. You understand?"

"Don't worry...I promise." Ben told her and he started to walk back. Arakawa saw them leave and sighed.

"I hope those two listen..well, I can't blame them for being shocked." She said she then looked back to the carnage on the floor. "But what am I suppose to do now? 'sigh' better call that place first before the police." She said as she was taking a cell phone out of her pocket and started dialing.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

As the two boys were walking back, Kouta didn't say anything to Ben, and Ben was getting worried, not just about Kouta, but about Nyu was well. Where was she? Was she alright? He hoped so. Then he thought back to what he saw in the lab. Never did Ben see that kind of carnage before in his life, who could have done something like that...could it have been...Nyu?

Ben was conflicted because he remembered that Nyu attacked him and that Nana girl at the graveyard a few days ago. But even if she did do it, why did she do it? There's no way she could...but after what happened at the graveyard, it wasn't a far-fetch. Ben was rubbing his head in agony. What is going on in this world?

When the two got up to the door, they opened it up, and to Ben's surprise, Yuka was still sitting there with her legs folded up in her chest and still in her pajamas.

"You're still up Yuka?" Ben asked. Yuka nodded her head.

"so how'd it go?" She asked. Ben was sighing and turned to Kouta.

"Kouta can tell you...I'm going to bed." Ben said as he went to his room fast, much to Yuka's confusion and concern. When Ben and went to his room, he saw his window and silently opened it and climbed out. Afterward, he made a run for it.

He didn't know where he was going. But it was someplace far where no one can hear or see him. After a few moments, he stopped in a forest clearing not too far away from Maple Inn, and after a long night and seeing a corpse he lost it.

"AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHH!" He shouted, so loud that the birds were flapping away and the crickets stopped chirping.

* * *

_Kamakura streets_

Lucy was still walking until she heard the shouting, she peaked up in the air and her eyes were wide.

"Tennyson?" She wondered loudly, she then used her vectors to soar into the sky to follow the noise.

* * *

_Forest_

Ben was now leaning against a tree and panting while holding his head.

"What is going on here?" He asked as he was still holding his head. "I feel like I am going crazy...horned girls...a dead body...just what the hell is going on here?" He asked.

"Ben my boy." Ben turned to see Professor Paradox standing near him, the professor looekd concerned to see the young savior of the universe. "You look stressed."

"Stressed?" Ben asked as he was losing his shit. "OF COURSE IM STRESSED! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON?!" He yelled at the professor, Paradox didn't say anything as Ben sighed. "I'm sorry...it's just been stressful for me. One thing, I fought Nyu, and she chopped off some girl's limbs off, but luckily I was able to go Clockwork and fix her. Then tonight I found some headless corpse...what is going on here Paradox?"

Paradox sighed and looekd down. "I only have a little bit of time to be here, but let me tell you that the girl you speak of, Nyu...she is...different."

"Of course she is different, she has horns on her head!" Ben exclaimed.

"No, I mean she is a Diclonius." Paradox said. "Her and that Nana girl you met."

Ben was snow surprised, he didn't know what a Dilconius was, and he was thinking that Nyu was one. But now the professor is telling him that yes, Nyu is indeed a Diclonius.

"But there is more, she has sp-" but then Paradox vanished again, prompting Ben to growl in anger and punch a tree.

"For once you-OOOOWWW!" Ben screamed nursing his hurt hand, he checked it to see if there were any damages, luckily there wasn't any, but he was still angry. Why did Paradox leave now? Now of all times? Well, if there was anything he got out of this, he can finally confirm that Nyu was indeed a Diclonius.

"So Diclonius have pink hair, pink eyes, and cat-like horns on their heads...interesting." Ben said. But he was still worried about Nyu, no matter what she is, he didn't know much about Diclonii, but it didn't change his opinion on Nyu...for the most part, he remembered that day at the graveyard and he was thinking back to tonight at the lab.

"She acted hostile with me once and she sliced off Nana's limbs, and after that later on, she was acting peacefully...could Diclonius have different personalities or something?" He wondered...only time could tell, and he didn't know if she did, kill Kakuzawa, but time will tell if she did or not.

" _I got to get back to the Inn, it's been a long day...hopefully we can find Nyu tomorrow._ " He thought as he then started to walk back to the house. He, however, was not aware that Lucy was watching him from afar.

" _What the hell is this boy? And who was that man?_ " She thought with wide eyes.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute/ Director Kaluzawa's Office_

The next day Kurama was in The Director's office, with the latter looking out the window.

"My son's dead..." Kakuzawa said.

"I know, I received the report...I am sorry." Kurama said as he tried to give his condolences.

"The only one capable of doing this is Lucy." Kakuzawa said as he then turned to face Kurama with an angry face. "What the hell have you been doing all this time?" He asked angrily.

"Ever since the battle with #7, there have been no deaths in the area where Lucy disappeared, there isn't any way we can track her down." Kurama calmly told him.

Kakuzawa turned back to the window. I heard that #7 grew attached to you, am I mistaken?"

"#7 had already been decommissioned sir." Kurama told him. Kakuzawa, however, interrupted him.

"She may not have used her vectors on humans, but she was not an exception to the pattern, and don't forget it. Diclonii born from carriers are dangerous, they re unable to reproduce and are only capable of killing. Also, they are nothing more but researching materials, you better not get the wrong idea Kurama."

"Yes, sir." Kurama said as he then bowed and turned to walk out of the room. Kakuzawa snorted silently as he watched the window still

" _Dumbass._ " He thougth smugly.

Kurama walked out and was greeted by Shirakawa and they started walking.

"I hope it went well." She said. Kurama didn't say anything as he kept walking straight.

"Even though his son died...his expression didn't change one bit." Kurama said as they continued walking. Shirakawa had a look of thought on her face.

"Hey Cheif, I have been wanting to ask you something for a while now."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Well...you never talk or mention anything aobut your family." Kurama then stopped walking, he didn't say anything but was thinking back to a painful memory.

"My daughter is dead." He told her, prompting Shirakawa to gasp.

"Oh...I had no idea, I'm sorry." She said.

"I had to kill her with my own two hands." He told her, causing her to gasp and look at him wide-eyed. "My wife, Hiromi, saw the killing and she committed suicide. Do you have any other questions?"

"No...I don't" Shirakawa said hesitatingly, leaving her paling and staring at the floor as they started to walk again, unbeknownst to her. Kurama was trembling and his right fist was shaking.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Kouta was washing hsi face by the sink as Yuka was coming out, still in her pajamas. She looked down hesitatingly.

"Are you...going to look for Nyu again?" She asked.

"Yes." Kout said, much to her surprise.

"But wait! I thought she was staying at the professor's." Kouta turned to look at her.

"She ran away from that place." He told her.

"How do you know?"

"We don't" Yuka and Kouta turned to see Ben, all dressed and wearing his signature green jacket. "But we got a strong feeling about it though." He said. Yuka looked like she was getting it.

"Hey, I was wondering..."

"What is it?" Kouta asked.

"Would it be alright if I went with you to look for Nyu?" She asked. Kouta turned back to her with a small smile.

"Yea...we can go together." He told her. Yuka and Ben both looked surprised. Yuka, however, was smiling.

"Really? I can come along?"

"Of course you can." Kout said returning the smile.

Ben was sighing mentally. But on the bright side, he can now go alien to hopefully find Nyu quicker and faster.

A short while later. Mayu was standing by the door with the older kids looking at her.

"Nyu's missing?" Mayu asked.

"Yes, but she'll be fine, she made it back the last toe remember?"

"Yes, sorta." Mayu said with her finger on her chin in thought.

"Well, just forget aobut it and head to school." Kouta told her with a smile. Ben then remembered that he hasn't spent that much time with Mayu recently and wanted to make it up to her.

"Hey Mayu, why don't I walk you to school." He asked her. The younger girl looked at him with wide eyes.

"Really? Could you?" She asked, hoping he would say yes. Ben smiled and nodded his head. "Ok then, let's go!" She told him as she was walking out.

"I'll also look around and let you guys know if I find Nyu." He called out to them as they waved goodbye.

* * *

_Kamakura Streets/Beach_

Ben and Mayu were walking on the sidewalk to get to her school.

"So you think Nyu will be alright?" Mayu asked Ben.

"I'm sure she is. As Yuka said, she came back last time." He told her with a smile. Mentally he was hoping that she was alright. Mayu looked at Ben curiously.

"Hey, Ben?"

"Hmmm? What is it?"

"I'm just wondering, why did you want to walk me to school? I do not mind, but why?"

"I just...watned to, that and since Kouta and Yuka are going off to find Nyu, It only made sense to go alone and give them alone time." He said. Mayu seemed to understand and she smiled at him and nodded. Ben had looekd at Mayu curiosity for a while now, should he tell her? I mean since he is the only one who knows aobut her abuse, maybe it only made sense that she knows about his ability to transform into aliens.

"Hey, Mayu...I ha-"

"Oh look!" Mayu said interrupting him. Ben looked confusingly as he was looking at what Mayu was pointing to, he squinted his eyes a bit to see and he was both surprised and smiled at who it was.

Bando was now on the beach, having been all fixed up thanks to Kurama. After escaping the doctor due to them threatening to castrate him, he quickly got away and bought some more ammo, hoping to have a rematch with Lucy.

"This beach is dirty as shit." He said lighting a cigarette in his mouth. He heard some footsteps and turned to see Mayu and Ben walking to him because h was blind at teh time, he didn't recognize them. "What do you want?" He asked rudely.

"We're happy that you're feeling better." Mayu said with a smile. At that point, Bando's cigarette dropped from his mouth as he became surprised.

"You gotta be kidding me, I got saved by someone like you two?" He asked as he rubbed his head in disgust, Ben looked somewhat offended.

" _So much for a thank you._ " Ben thought sarcastically.

"Well, we're happy you are feeling better and recovered from your injuries." Mayu said with a smile.

"Look, that ain't none of your business, twerps." He said. He took a step closer to her. "Anyway, what can I for you and your older brother here?"

"What do you mean?" Ben asked suspiciously. Bando sighed in irritation.

"I don't like to be in debt to people, especially not scrawny half-pints like you two." He said.

"It's fine, I think we can handle ourselves." Ben said as he put a protective hand on Mayu's shoulder.

"I ain't doing it for you kid, I'm doing it for me." He said as he was taking out a small notepad and writing something down, he ripped off one sheet of paper and wrote something on another sheet of paper and handed it to both Mayu and Ben. "Take it, both of you." He said.

"You're giving us your phone number?" Mayu asked as both she and Ben took the paper.

"Yes. So that way you both can reach me whenever." He told them. Ben was confused.

"Ok...but for what?"

"If you both are in a pinch, just call me up and I'll fuckin kill them for you. That should make us even." He said. Mayu nodded and smiled.

"Ok." She told him. Ben look it over and was thinking that he didn't need this. he could transform into kickass aliens to get himself out of a pinch...but let's say that he wan not able to transform...maybe he can use it, but he was not comfortable with the whole killing them thing.

Bando grunted as he turned to walk away." Anyway...see you aorund I guess." He said as he started to walk. Ben sighed and turned to Mayu.

"Ok squirt, let's get you to school"

"Got it Ben." Mayu said. As they were aobut to start walking away, Bando called out to them again.

"Before you go, I want to tell you something, if you happen to see a bitch with a pair of horns on her head, you call me right away!" He called out. Ben went wide-eyed, this guy was looking for Nyu, hopefully, if Nyu ever leaves teh house again, Ben would be with her at all times.

"Are you talking about Nyu?" She asked him. Ben immediately paled as Bando turned his attention towards them both as the sky began to rumble.

* * *

_Sasuke Inari Shrine_

Kouta and Yuka were both taking shelter at the Sasuke Inari Shrine to hold out until the rain stopped. So far they have not been able to find Nyu, and so they decided to wait until it stopped raining before they continued with their search.

"Hopefully it'll stop soon." Kouta said. He then noticed Yuka shivering and got a littel bit concerned. "Are you cold Yuka?" He asked her. Yuka looked at him and turned away blushing a bit.

"No, I'm all good." She told him.

"But you're shivering."

"As I said, it's fine." She insisted, but Kouta was not going to take no for an answer and he grabebd her and was hugging her close to him as she was in his lap. She was now resting her head on his shoulder as his arms were wrapped around her.

"Well...at least this is warmer right?" Kouta asked.

"I guess...but my skirt is all muddy, won't it ruin your pants?"

"So what? They're just pants." Both and Kouta and Yuka were silent for a moment as they were starting to blush from being so close to each other, as the rain was still pouring down from outside, Kouta sighed, causing Yuka to gasp and shift her legs.

"Huh? What's wrong?" He asked her concerningly.

"Nothing, I am fine." Yuka said as she calmed down a bit. After some hesitation, she asked Kouta something she wanted to know for a while now.

"Kouta? Do you like me?" She asked. Kouta uttered a confused sound, prompting her to gasp and turn away, embarrassed.  
Nothing! Forget I said anything!" She said. Kouta looked down and sighed a bit

"I'm sorry." He told her, prompting her to look at him and give a confsued look. "I am sorry I can't remember about the festival, I know you are bothered by it, but it was just so long ago I can't remember." He said.

"Kouta..." Yuka said.

"But. I do remember that I liked you back then..and I still like you to this day." He said.

"Kouta..." Yuka said as she leaned in closer..and kissed him, prompting his eyes to widen in shock and surprise.

( _Eyecatch featuring Kouta and Yuka sitting together_ )

* * *

(E _yecatch of Ben looking into the sky and thinking about Nyu_ )

_Beach_

Ben was now on the ground in pain, after Mayu mentioned Nyu's name, Bando came and grabbed her aggressively, Ben tried to stop it, but Bando hit him hard in the face and knocked the boy out momentarily. Ben groggily got up to see Bando getting in Mayu's face. Ben got angry and activated the Omnitrix.

" _I don't care if I am in public view. I will be dammed if this bastard hurts my little sister._ " He thought angrily as he scrolled through the alines. He saw one and smiled. " _Let's see how Rath deals with your bullshit attitude._ "

"I killed women and children before, don't think I'll show mercy on you!" He said in Mayu's face, all of a sudden there was a flash of green light that temporarily blinded him as he dropped Mayu on her butt. When the light shined away, he turned to see that standing in Ben's place was a large humanoid orange and white bipedal tiger with a black claw coming out of his wrists and not having a tail. He also had green eyes, black stripes on his back, shoulders, legs, and upper body. And he also has a white jaw, hands, feet, neck, and stomach. And the Omnitrix dial was in the center of hsi chest.

" **RATH!** " He shouted. Bando's eyes widened and Mayu's expression became one of both shock and awe.

"What the hell?" Bando asked, but then Rath pointed his finger at him.

" **LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, PUNY MAN! RATH DOESN'T APPRECIATE YOU HURTING RATH'S LITTEL SISTER WITHOUT GETTING A MAJOR BEATDOWN!** " He shouted. Bando angrily got out his gun and pointed it at the large tiger.

"Ok freak! You better tell me where that little horned bitch is at or I'll kill you." Rath, however, was not intimidated.

" **LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING LITTLE GUN, TOTING MAN! RATH WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY A MERE TOY, BE PREPARED TO GET BEATEN DOWN, TIED UP LIKE A PRETZEL, AND THEN BEATEN DOWN AGAIN!** " Rath shouted. Bando looked angry but confused.

"That makes no damn sense at all." He said.

" **I KNOW!** " Rath shouted as he ran and punched Bando hard in the face, causing the hitman to skid back into the sand, Bando looked up and got enraged.

"TIME TO DIE FREAK!" He shouted as he cocked and pointed his gun at the Appoplexian.

" **BRING IT!** " Rath shouted as Bando began to shoot him, Rath quickly ran on all fours to dodge teh attack and grabbed Bando by the legs and slammed him into teh ground. " **MAJOR BEATDOWN BABY!** " He shouted, Bando angrily got up and tried to kick Rath in the stomach, but that did nothing. " **HA! THAT THE BEST YOU GOT?! RATH'S BEEN HIT BY TRUCKS THAT HIT HARDER THAN YOU!** " He mocked as he grabbed Bando again and hit him again.

Meanwhile, Mayu was watching and was shocked. Was...was this Ben? Wha-what did he do and who is this cat person? Mayu was wondering, but she had to stop before something bad happened.

"STOP!" She shouted. Bando and Rath both looked at her.

"Stay out of this shrimp! This overgrown cat is getting put down." Bando growled.

" **TRY IT, DICKHEAD!** " Rath shouted. Before Bando could fire again, Mayu held out a piece of paper right in front of him.

"What the hell?" Bando wondered. Mayu looked at him with a determined face.

"You told me to call you in case someone was bothering us right? Well someone is here right now and is hurting me and my big brother." She told him, at this point, Rath turned back into Ben as he looked on. "You said you would help us for sure right? Or was that a lie?" She asked him. Bando grunted uncomfortably and relented.

"Fine. Shit." He said as he got up and rubbed the and off of him. "You better hope I don't see your face again shrimp." He told her, he then glared over at Ben. "And you...I don't know what the hell you are, but you better watch your back." He growled.

"I should tell you the same thing, _pal._ " Ben spat that last word out as Bando began to walk away while grumbling under his breath. Mayu went up to Ben and looekd at him curiously.

"Ben...how did you so that?" She asked. Ben looked down and mentally sighed. Well, she was going to find out eventually, but now was not the time to tell her.

"I promise I'll tell you later, for now, let's get you to school." He said as he activated the Omnitrix again to select an alien and Mayu was watching him with fascination. He found one and slammed the dial as he was engulfed in light. Standing in his place was Jetray. Mayu looked surprised and a little bit scared but Jetray looked at her.

"Don't be afraid Mayu, its still Ben." He said. "Now climb on my back." He said. Mayu got her bag and nervously climbed on the humanoid manta ray's back. "Now tell me where your school is." He told her.

"Uh..ok," Mayu said nervously. Jetray sighed and looked at her again.

"Mayu, I promise, it is still Ben, underneath all of this. I promise I will explain later." He said softly

"Ok..." Mayu said nervously as he took off. Mayu was screaming in the air as the manta ray was flying over the town. " _I-I'm actually in the air!_ " She thought with wide-eyes as she was amazed, she looked down at Jetray and had wide eyes. " _Ben...what are you?_ "

* * *

_Sasuke Inari Shrine_

Yuka broke the kiss and rested her head on Kouta's shoulder again.

"I don't want you to ever forget. And I don't want us to be apart from each other, wherever you go. I will always be by your side." She said, Kouta held her face up with his hands as he wiped away tears in her eyes and he kissed her again. Yuka went wide-eyed but then closed them again as she moaned into it as she wrapped her arms aorund him.

" _Kouta..."_ She moaned thoughtfully, just then, the rain stopped and it was all sunny outside, Kouta noticed and broke the kiss.

"Look...the rain stopped." He said Yuka looked up and smiled.

"Yea...it did." She said as she then leaned in close, but then Kouta's shand slipped and she began to tumble, she then fell off and Kouta quickly went over to help her up. But when the saw made him blush. Yuka's underwear was showing and what did the look like?

"Stripes..." Kouta said. Yuka got up and walked up to him angrily while blushing, causing him to get nervous. "Well...uhhh." Yuka just sighed.

"Never mind...let's go."She said as she started walking, with Kouta following her. "You know that only happened because I slipped in the puddle you know." She told him.

"What do you mean?" Kout asked. Yuka just sighed a bit in irritation.

"Forget aobut it." Just then she almost slipped in another puddle but luckily Kout manages to catch her in time.

"Careful, it's all yet." He told her.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Yuka said sarcastically to him. Kouta sighed.

"Well...where should we go next?" Yuka put her finger to her chin in thought.

"Should we check the station?" She asked him.

"Well...I don't know. But where could she have gone? I mean doesn't she know we are all worried about her?" He sighed again. "Maybe we should head back to the house. For all we know, maybe Ben found her."

Yuka nodded, then a thought got to her. "You know...Nyu has been looking at Ben a lot."

"Yea...I noticed that as well..." Kouta said. Now he did notice but was also kind of jealous a bit, he wasn't mad at Ben, just jealous that Nyu appeared to like Ben more than him. "Well, anyway let's get back to the house, hopefully, they will be there."

" _Hopefully Nyu won't be cuddled with him._ " Yuka thought. Meanwhile, they did not notice that Lucy was watching them nearby.

As she was looking down, she wanted to go down there right now and apologize to him..but that awful memory kept coming back, she remembered a younger Kouta looking at her with blood splattered on him as tears came down his eyes.

" _No more! Stop it!_ " Young Kouta's voice said in her mind as she was still looking at Kouta and Yuka, she sighed and turned around to walk off. However, that caused Kouta and Yuka to hear the footsteps and spot her, much to their relief.

"Nyu!" Kouta called out she ran up the stairs after her. "Thank god, where have you been?" He asked as he put his hand on her shoulder. Lucy didn't say anything, but she turned to face him and gave him a dull face. It was silent for a moment until Kouta remembered something. "Oh that's right, you can't answer, even if I ask." Lucy, however, slapped his hand away from her shoulders and she turned away from him.

"What're you saying?" She asked. Kouta's eyes went wide.

"You're talking now? When the heck did this happen?" Kouta was surprised, all Nyu ever said was her won name, Ben's name and 'Yes' and now here she was..speaking in full sentences. Yuka came up to them and grabbed Kouta's hand.

"She's acting kinda we-" But then she was interrupted as she somehow got sent flying back down the stairs into a railing. Kout immediately ran down to help her up."

"I told you it's slippery, remember?"

"I didn't even move, I got hit." She told him. She was also beginning to cry, most likely due to the pain she was feeling.

"Nothing hit you Yuka." Kouta told her as he put his hand on her head. "Now stop crying, you have to set a good example for Nyu." He told her.

Lucy was looking at them and remembering to a time when they were kids, Kouta was stroking Yuka's hair, Lucy's face became one of sorrow and sadness.

"Kouta..." She thought as she then began to walk away from them. As she was beginning to walk, Kouta noticed Lucy leaving and was following her.

"Where are you going?" He asked. Lucy didn't look at him and continued walking.

"I'm going home. I remembered everything." She told him.

"You mean your memory has come back?" He asked.

"Yes, which means I need to say goodbye now."

Kouta's eyes widened with shock. Nyu was going to leave? Right now? What about Him? What about Yuka? Ben? Mayu? What about all the fun they had since they met. Kouta frowned at her.

"What are you saying? I know you don't have a home to go back to!" He told her. Lucy was taken aback by that remark, but then looked down uneasily

"I can remember my home..." She then flashed back to where she was bounded and gagged, unable to move, something that made her tremble a bit. "I'll make a new home, so you don't have to worry about me." She told him, but Kouta would not take no for an answer. He grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"What are you saying? Maple Inn is your home, right?" He asked her. Lucy's eyes were widening at Kouta's statement as her eyes were threatening to spill some tears.

"Oh, Kouta...you don't remember?" She asked. Promoting Kouta to look confused.

"What?" He asked. What the heck was Nyu talking about? Lucy buried her face in her hands as she started to cry.

"I don't have the right to be with you..." She said while crying. Kouta was looking at her with some concern and confusion.

"don't deserve? What are you saying?" He asked her. Yuka, who had discovered came up to them.

"Is something wrong? Why's Nyu crying?" She asked. Lucy then all of a sudden sunk to her knees as she continued to sob.

"Because...eight years ago, I...Kouta's..."

Kouta then flashed back to a memory of a horned child in the shadows and himself covered in blood, crying and cradling someone. He then took a step back as he was trembling.

"What are you both talking aobut?" Yuka asked curiously. Did something happen eight years ago? What was it? Lucy's crying was diminishing a bit as she slowly looked up and said one word.

"Nyu?" Yep, Lucy has taken a rest and Nyu was woken up once more. When Nyu saw Kouta smiled big. "KOUTA!" She said as she hugged Kouta, much to his confusion.

"What was that all about?" He thought.

"Is she...like how she was before?" Yuka asked. Nyu didn't seem to notice Yuka and looked at Kouta.

"Cuddle." She said, Kouta raised an eyebrow and made a confused noise. "Kouta, cuddle." Kouta was blushing a bit and sheepishly looked to Yuka who looked annoyed and turned away, giving them alone time. Kouta Then hugged Nyu and smiled a bit. Nyu was staring off into he distance and had a sudden flashback of two children playing in a river, she then hugged him tightly as she had tears going down her face.

"Don't worry Nyu, I'll always be here for you, now let's hurry home." He told her. Yuka looked down and was trying to keep calm, but she was happy that they found Nyu again, and they now had to go home. Hopefully Ben was back there.

"Ok, break it up! We have to get back!" She told them, getting annoyed and frustrated. Nyu finally noticed Yuka as she ran over to hug the older girl as she was sobbing a bit, all the annoyance and fustrationYuka had diminished completely as she was trying to calm her down. "Hey, it's alright Nyu." Yuka said calmy. "But we should go back, Ben is most likely waiting for us."

When Nyu heard Ben's name, her eyes went wide. Ben was at home? Ben was worried about Nyu?

"Ben?" Nyu asked. Yuka smiled at her.

"That's right, Ben, he was so worried aobut you, he is possibly back home waiting for you. Ready to go back to see Ben?"

"YES!" Nyu said as she frantically nodded her head. Kouta saw this and was slightly jealous. But why?

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben was sitting in the dining area with his hand on his forehead, he was hoping hard to avoid being discovered while in this world, and now there were currently four people who now know. Mayu, that crazy hitman guy Bando, that professor Isobe, and that suit-wearing guy Kurama. Ben was sighing as he drank some tea. He then remembered that they weren't the only ones about him, there was that one woman he saved, plus those people who saw him stop the robbery. But they did not see him transform, they just saw him as the aliens...come to think of it...there haven't been any reports about his heroic duties. Guess the police aren't buying it

"Well...I was going to tell her anyway." Ben said. "I just hope she doesn't think I am crazy when I tell her tonight." He said. He remembered that Mayu was very confused and a little bit frightened when he turned into Jetray, but he was able to calm her down by giving her a ride in the sky, which not only calmed her down but made her smile. Mayu liked it, it was like riding on a carnival ride.

Ben promised his little sister figure that he would explain later. Mayu agreed and said goodbye to him. Ben then went back to the house, hopefully, Kouta and Yuka found Nyu.

Nyu...Ben has been questioning his feelings for her for a while now, and while he was not ready to date yet because of Julie...he couldn't help but take notice into Nyu. But he wanted to learn more aobut her, aobut her past, he also remembered about that day in the graveyard, and he wanted to find out why she did it though. But there was no denying his feelings.

"I can't help it...I...think I like Nyu...there...I like her...but how would she know? I mean she did blush and lean close to me when we kissed by accident, but then she forgot about it later, plus she cuddled with me that one night and forgot that...maybe when she becomes more mature about it..." As he began to wonder, his thoughts faded as soon as he heard the door open.

"Huh, they're back, I wonder if-"

"BEN!" Ben's eyes immediately widened as soon as he heard the voice. It was Nyu...Nyu! Ben immediately got up and went to the hallway, where he saw Kouta, Yuka, and Nyu standing by the door. When he saw Nyu. He began to tear up a bit and smile.

"Nyu..." He said. Nyu began to tear up as well as she ran towards him and glomped him into a big hug, Ben was hugging her tightly as he was whimpering. "I am so sorry I didn't save you sooner." He said.

"Ben..." Nyu said whimpering as she hugged him tighter. Yuka and Kouta were watching this and smiled a bit, but Kouta still felt some jealousy over it thought. Ben held Nyu by the face as he was using his thumb to wipe the tears away. "I promise..as long as I am here...nothing will ever happen to you...not ever again." He told her. Nyu started to smiled a bit as the two hugged again. Happy to be in each other's arms once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest...chapter...EVER! But now...Mayu is now aware of Ben's transformation and so is Bando, next chapter will have Ben tell her aobut it and stuff like that. Also, Nozomi shall be featured next chapter, so be prepared for that :)
> 
> Now...about the Kouta/Yuka relationship...Now...I know that some of you are turned off by it since they are cousins, but let me explain. In Japan, and other parts of the world, it is considered legal, but not uncommon. I know it's considered to be immoral and taboo here in America, and it is illegal in some parts, but this is a different country. So we should not judge. So I do not want any flames about me writing it down, alright? I am not mad at you guys, just letting you know that I don't want you guys getting mad at me for writing it in, I'm going to stay true to the source material.
> 
> So we finally got a glimpse of the DNA Voice...now I do have a personal theory on the Voice, but I will not explain till the next few chapters. I know it is kind of ambiguous, but as I told you all, I will explain in a future chapter.
> 
> Also Ben is finally coming to terms with his feelings for Lucy/Nyu, and it seems like Nyu is slowly accepting it as well...but one step at a time of course. But while Nyu is accepting it. Will Lucy? Only time shall tell.
> 
> Anyway, please do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you all and happy to answer any questions you might have. but just..no flames on the whole Kouta/Yuka thing, please.


	9. The Lesborne Project & The Newest Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys and dolls. So as you know, this is going to mix things from both the anime and manga and that includes teh character Nozomi, yes she is going to be in this story. Fun fact, back when I was coming up with this story, I was originally considering having Nozomi be Ben's love interest. But then someone suggested to me that Lucy would be better, not only that but I remember reading Ben 10 Multiverse One-shots by Humantrix-X-24 and figured that Lucy would indeed be better for Ben. But anyway, that is about it. Now sit back, grab some popcorn and let's begin :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekley Young Jump, and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Diclonius Research Institute/Night Before_

Arakawa was brought to the Institute, by orders of the director. After she contacted them aobut Kakuzawas death, she was suddenly transferred tot he Institute, and she felt nauseous after being in the helicopter. After taking a few steps, she stopped and crouched with her hand covering her mouth.

"I swear..I'm never riding that thing again." Arakawa said as she was trying not to vomit, meanwhile, Shirakawa was walking up to her and greeted her.

"I have been waiting for you." She said looking at the young professor. Arakawa looked up to the woman and quickly stood up.

"Right...so...I bought the object you required, I don't understand why you needed me to come out here though, you could have just come to collect it." Arakawa was holding up a bag with something in it. Shirakawa didn't say anything she turned away.

"Just follow me." She said as she walked ahead. Leaving Arakawa to stager behind a bit. As the two were walking through the halls, Shirakawa lead Arakawa to an elevator and they both went inside, the secretary pushed the down button ad soon they were going down. After what seemed like a few minutes, Arakawa spoke again.

"So is this like a kidnapping?" She asked nervously. Shirakawa didn't respond as she looked ahead of her. Arakawa sighed and lifted her arm. "Man...I wonder how long it's been since I have taken a bath." She said, as she was sniffing herself, she didn't notice Shirakwa looking nervous. "Hey," Arakawa said. How deep is this elevator? " She asked.

Shirakawa didn't respond for a few minutes, but when she did...

"2 Kilometers deep." She said. Arakawa's eyes went wide with nervousness.

"Hey, WAIT A MINUTE!" Arakawa raises her voice with nervousness and worry. "WHERE ARE YOU DRAGGIN ME TO? I ONLY CAME HERE JUST TO DROP OFF THE PACKAGE!" Arakawa was now worried. What was she going? Were they going to kill her? Just..what? Shirakawa didn't answer right away as she ignored Arakawa's pleads and kept on looking onwards. "Well...if you can't explain that to me...can't you at least tell me what is in this cellar we are going to?"

Shirakawa looked on. "We are going to Project Lebensborn. The place that shall be the origin of the new humanity." Shirakawa said. The woman didn't look so happy about it, in face, she looked rather nervous and scared aobut it.

"Wh-whats that?" Arakawa asked. Shirakawa didn't say what it was but only told her that they had arrived at their destination. When the elevator opened, they were greeted by hot temperatures. "Jeeze...it's hot in here." Arakawa said fanning herself. As the two women were walking, Arakawa noticed some weird machines all over the place. " _What is this origin of a new humanity?_ " She thought. " _How..could there be such a thing?_ " As she was wondering his. Arakawa had opened the door to Lebensborn. And it opened with a **WHOOSH.**

When Arakawa looekd on, she looked shocked and surprised. What was behind the door? It looked like they were outside, and there was also a bed of large stones inches above the ground.

"What the...are we outside?!" Arakawa asked nervously

"No..it's an underground pond." Shirakawa said to her calmly. Then Arakawa suddenly grabbed her sides and had a sick look on her face.

"This atmosphere...it's so exhausting...I feel bad." The young scientist thought. He thoughts were interrupted by the other woman.

"The director is over there." Arakawa then saw the director, standing over a large stone with his head down. Arakawa was nervously walking over to him as she was looking more aorund the area.

" _What the hell is going on here?_ " She thought nervously. As she walked over more, she stopped until she was a few inches away. "So...this is an eerie area." She told him. When he didn't say anything else she coughed nervously. "So..what exactly is this place?" She asked the director didn't answer still so she just gently dropped the bag to the ground. "Well, I brought you the docs head..I'll just be going home no-"

"Did you see it?" He asked her. Arakawa seemed confused at first 9until she finally figured it out.

"The horns? Yea...they were exposed. You know..I should be receiving your condolences, but since you have seen this obviously..."

"It's I who should be giving you condolences." He said. Arakawa looked confused, as then the director turned towards her and pulled out a gun, and also had a wicked grin on his face. Causing Arakawa to look horrified.

"Wait! What are you doing?" she asked in a scared voice.

"You have seen way too much, my dear." He said with his grin still on his face. Arakawa's eyes widened.

"the horns?"

"That's right, so you know that I can't have you running around since you have already seen what shouldn't be seen." He said. Arakawa's eyes widened as she tried to make a run for it.

**BANG**

Arakawa stopped as she looked on ahead. She looked down to see that her arm had a hold in an ad was bleeding rapidly.

"You-you shot me...you really shot me." She said in a frightened voice. Kakuzawa still grinned at her.

"Do you want to die here, girl?" He taunted. Arakawa put her hand on her arm to stop the bleeding, but it was not working well.

"Please stop, I'm begging you!" She cried. Kakuzawa then gave her a hard frown.

"Then you have to obey me." He said. Arakawa turned to face him. "I want the truth and you better give them to me...who were the other witnesses?" He asked her.

" _Crap!_ " She thought in her mind. "What are you talking about?" She asked him. Kakuzawas frown remained.

"I am talking about the two other people who saw my son's body. We got confirmation about two other pairs of footprints at the scene." He told her. Arakawa was trembling as blood was now dripping on the ground.

"Y-yes, there were two other people there. They were both students who came to see the professor." Arakawa said to him in a worried voice.

"Names..." Kakuzawa said. "I want their names." He said threateningly. Shirakawa was watching all fo this and she was feeling guilty, she didn't want his poor woman to go through this...but orders were orders...

"After what happened in the lab, I can hardly remember their faces. I swear I do not know their names." She said, she then all of a sudden felt really weak. "I feel...sick." She said as she then fell to her knees. Kakuzawa's eyes didn't leave and neither did his frown.

"Well..that's a damn shame then, my son told me that you were a great scientist...well...to bad." He said as she then collapsed in a pool of blood. He then turned back to face the sky as Shirakawa looked at the poor girl with a saddened look.

Arakawa's eyes widened for a moment before returning to its sleepy look. "Oh..I just remembered...the students were there looking for a girl they left with the professor." She said weakly. Kakuzawa turned back to face her with a raised eyebrow.

"They were looking for a girl?" He asked.

"Yes...when we went to the lab, she was gone...nowhere to be found." Arakawa said as then tears were beginning to pour from her eyes. "IS this how it ends for me? A young virgin bleeding to death on the ground?" Kakuzawa sighed as he faced Shirakawa.

"Shirakawa." He told her, teh secretary nodded and got out her phone.

"This is the Lesborne Project area, could you send a medical team here please?" She asked. Arakawa then looekd up with a smile on her face.

"You-you're going to save me?" She asked hopefully. Kakuzawa then dug into the bag and pulled out his son's head and pointed it to her.

"On one condition...you take my son's place." He told her.

Arakawa gulped nervously and nodded and she then looks down to the floor.

" _I remember..one of them not looking Japanese...he looked more American...I wonder if he is an exchange student...kid...you need to get out of here as soon as you can or they'll find you!_ " She thought worriedly.

* * *

_Male Inn/Next Day_

After Nyu was reunited with the others. Ben was relieved, he was happy that Nyu was now back home safe and sound. Now he was in his room laying down with his hands behind his back.

"It's good to see Nyu home again." He said with a smile. "I am really surprised at how much she missed me because when we were hugging she didn't let go for like 10 minutes and Yuka had to separate us...I mean not that I didn't like to hug but...*sigh* what is wrong with me?" He said rubbing his hands through his hair. "I just...can't deny it...I like her..there, I said it. I like her!" He said as his voice was getting louder. "I ADMIT IT, I LIKE HER!" He shouted. All of a sudden Yuka, Kouta, and Nyu came into his room and opened the door.

"Ben, are you ok?" Yuka asked concerningly. Ben looekd at the three and blushed out of embarrassment.

"Yea..sorry, just hurt myself a bit, don't worry, I'm fine." He sheepishly said as he got up.

"That's good." Yuka said with a smile. She then turned to Kouta. "You cleaned the kitchen properly right?"

"Yes." He sighed a bit. "Such a slave driver." He whispered, but then was getting his ear pulled by an annoyed Yuka

"What was that?" She asked.

"Nothing ma'am!" He said ss she let go and he rubbed the sore spot. "So anyway, who is the friend of yours that is coming over?"

"I am wondering that myself." Ben said. Yuka had told them that a friend of hers was coming for a visit and that they had to get everything ready.

"She is a junior from my time at high school, she is very smart and she usually takes first place in the Countrywide Sham exams." Yuka said proudly.

Ben was whistling with some amazement, another quite smart girl, hopefully, he and she can become good friends. Kouta was confused a bit.

"How did you befriend her?" He asked. Yuka looked up and back at him.

"Well...like they say. Birds of a feather come together." She said.

" _Who sais that?_ " Kouta and Ben thought. Yuka sighed and tuned to Kouta.

"Kouta, I want you to go out and buy some sweets for our tea." She said.

Kouta was shocked. "What? Why me?" Yuka ignored him and gave him a glare.

"Don't do anything weird when she arrives ok?"

"Yes ma'am!" He said as he quickly left the house. Ben was still confused.

"So why is she coming over here? Not that I don't mind, but there must be a reason." He asked the older girl

"Due to some circumstances, we are studying for exams here." Yuka told him. This prompted Ben to get suspicious.

" _Hmmm._ " He thought. What were these circumstances? From how Yuka said it, it seemed very serious, he was hoping that this gril can explain what is going on.

"Anyways Ben," Yuka told him, snapping him out of his train of thought. "Do you think you and Nyu can clean the bathroom a bit? You only have to clean the tub, so it won't take long." She said to him.

"No problem, let's go Nyu."

"Nyu!" She said happily as she followed the boy. Yuka looekd at them both and smiled.

" _Nyu has become so fond of Ben...I wonder if she likes him...but since she still acts like a child...maybe when she matures a bit._ " She thought as she then went to the kitchen to get tea ready.

Ben and Nyu were now in the tub trying to scrub it down, Ben on one side, and Nyu on another. Ben could see Nyu was making a vroom sound as she was scrubbing, which prompted him to think about how adorable that was, he then quickly went back o scrubbing.

" _I really want to see if we can take a chance...but then again, she is acting like a toddler, maybe if she matures a bit...then maybe I might ask her...I just hope it doesn't take to long._ " He thought, just then when he was scrubbing another side he was now next to Nyu, and she flashed him a happy smile. He returned it and scrubbed again whi8le as in thought again.

" _I wonder if Diclonius's have different personalities because that one day she attacked me on the beach, then she attacked me at the graveyard, but most of the time, she acts happy and friendly. I wonder if something triggers it..._ " Just as he was lost in thought, his elbow accidentally hit Nyu in her left breast, causing her to squeak and cover her chest as Ben toppled over.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Nyu!" He said as he started blushing like crazy. "I didn't mean for that to happen!" He said. Nyu was also blushing, but she soon leaned in close to Ben and grabbed his hands and put then on her breasts, this prompted him to blush like mad...again! Nyu pressed his hands together.

"Nyu, wait, this isn't right." He said. But Nyu was not listening, she was so lost in extasy that she started to move Bens hands over her breasts and she was mewling with pleasure, this prompted Ben to blush crazily again.

" _This isn't right...but they feel so nice, fir-GAH STOP IT BEN!_ " He thought worriedly. He quickly took his hands away and ran out of the bathroom. Leaving behind a confused Nyu to tilt her head to the side.

"Yuka I am do-" Ben tried to say but then he stopped after hearing some whimpering, he got confused and started to follow the source of the noise and it led him to the dining area. When he got there, he saw Yuka and Mayu sitting down and Yuka comforting a beautiful girl wearing a school sailor suit that was white, with a red collar, a yellow tie and had red trimmings on her sleeves. She was also wearing a red skirt and brown shoes and knee-high socks.

" _Who is that?_ " He thought. " _Is that Yuka's friend? Kinda cute._ " He thought, but he then shook his head of those thoughts and entered the room. "Yo." He simply said waving his hand. Mayu looked saw him and smiled.

"Hey, Ben!" She said with a smile, Yuka looked up and smiled a bit at him, the other girl simply looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Ben backed up from the scene.

"Should...I just come back later?"

"No!" Yuka said, "You're fine Ben, this is my friend Nozomi." She said.

Ben smiled and went over to her. "Nice to meet you Nozomi, I'm Ben Tennyson." He said sticking his hand out. Nozomi saw his hand and simply looked down whimpering. Ben looked both confused and nervous. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked Yuka.

"No, you didn't do anything Ben." Yuka told him reassuringly. It's just...well..someone saw her...well I can't say." She said as she was blushing a bit, much to Ben's confusion. All of a sudden the door opened to see Kouta in the room with bags.

"I'm back!" He announced. Everyone saw him and smiled (sans Nozomi)

"Welcome back." Yuka said with a smile. "This is the girl I was telling you about, Nozomi." She said. Nozomi was looking at Kouta and was trembling as her face was red and tears were going down her face.

"I-it was him..." She muttered. Yuka looekd at Kouta with a shocked expression.

"Kouta...it eas you? Who saw her panties?" She asked him. Ben looked at her confused, but his eyes widened at the mention of panties.

"You mean the diaper?" He asked. Everyone's eyes immediately went wide when he said that.

" _Diaper?_ " Ben thought shockingly. Nozomi then started to well more tears as she immediately ran out of the dining area while crying. Everyone turned to face Kouta with glares.

"Nice one dude." Ben said with annoyance. Kouta then looked down in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that..." He said. Ben sighed.

"Well, let's go find her and then you can apologize." Ben said as he started to search through the house with Kouta, Yuka, and Mayu searching as well. "Where could she be?" Ben thought. " _And what was that he said aobut diaper? The girl wears a diaper? Why would she wear a diaper?_ " Ben sighed and looekd some more.

"Find her?" Yuka asked as they all got back together.

"Nope." Ben told her. Yuka sighed.

"Well he didn't leave the house, her Kutsu is still at the entrance." She said.

"Kouta and I will go see if she is in the backyard." Ben said as he and Kouta walked out. As soon as they got out they began looking for the girl. They both heard soft sobbing and followed teh noise, they finally arrived to see Nozomi by a fountain.

"Hey, Nozomi!" Ben called out, the girl immediately turned to see the two boys and she was holding her diaper in hand, she squealed and the boys immediately blushed as they covered her eyes.

"Oh crap!, We're so sorry!" Kouta said covering his eyes.

"Yea! we're so so sorry!" Ben said trying to defuse teh situation. Nozomi was so flustered by what was going on that she dropped her diaper and she panicked, she then picked it up and held it to her chest as more tears came out of her eyes.

"What is this?" Kouta thought as Nozomi was still crying a bit

"Oh my..." She said. "I..I wa-was seen..." she said whimpering. "Due to my cowardice..." she said. Ben looked at her with confusion. "I occasionally pee...due to my cowardice...Even my father thinks...that I am embarrassed to be a coward...I have been cramming for life..but int he end..I'm still a coward..." She said with tears in her eyes as the yellow liquid was going down her shirt.

" _What happened to this kind soul?_ " Ben wondered. Never had he seen anyone this shy before, nor have then been trembling like that before. Ben wanted to know what happened to her that caused her to be so shy.

"NOZOMI!" Yuka called out. Nozomi's eyes went wide as saucers as she dropped the diaper. "My secret will be revealed..." She began to panic, they will soon see her diapers, what was she going to do? All of a sudden Ben walked right up to her and looekd at her, and she gave a nervous and shy look.

"Sorry aobut this." He said as he then pushed Nozomi right into the fountain. She wagged her head to get teh water off as she then looekd up at him and he smiled.

"Just so they won't notice." He said to her. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "I don't know what it is you are scared of, and I know living in fear is hard and not pleasant, but if you keep on feeling that way, it will only get worse." He said as he offered her a hand. "But while you are here, you don't have to be afraid. We don't judge." He said with a smile.

Nozomi was blushing a bit when she looekd at him. "This boy..."

"Ben!" Kouta called out worriedly.

"Wha-

**BAM**

Ben was immediately punched right in the face and went crashing in the fountain next to Nozomi, who gasped as she put her hands to her face, he got up and wagged his head.

"Who the hell di-" But when he saw who did it...he was shrinking back in fear. Because the culprit was Yuka, and if looks could kill, then he would be dead.

"What did you think you were doing?" She asked angrily. Ben was sweating nervously as he was trying to come up with a good excuse.

"Well, you see."

"He saw a spider!" Kouta said to his cousin. "Yea, a spider was nearby, Ben didn't think rationally so he pushed her in the fountain to get her away from it." He said, trying to calm her down. Yuka then turned to Nozomi and asked her if that is what happened and the girl nodded. Yuka sighed and turned to Ben.

"I'm sorry Ben." She said as she held out her hand and helped him out of the fountain. "I shouldn't have hit you." She said sadly.

"It's alright." Ben said trying to stay confident. "Jeeze, that girl nearly took my head off with that one!" He thought.

"No it isn't, let's get back to the house and get you an ice pack." Yuka insisted as she started to drag Ben to the house, prompting him to complain and tell her that he can walk himself. Kouta sighed and held out his hand to help Nozomi up.

"I'm sorry I exposed you like that." He said. Nozomi's saw the sincerity in his eyes and smiled a bit.

( _Eyecatch of Nyu resting her head on Ben's chest, prompting the Omnitrix wielder to blush_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Nozomi singing a little tune, much to Nyu's enjoyment_ )

When they all got back to the house everything had settled down for the most part. Ben had an ice pack on the hurt part of his face, as Nyu was trying to touch it and Ben trying to get her to stop.

"You're from America?" Nozomi asked with awe. Ben smiled and nodded as he pushed Nyu's hand away.

"Yep, the first time being in Japan, so far it's nice. I love the cherry blossoms blooming in the air." He said. Nozomi put her head down.

"I hope I could visit there one day..." She said. Yuka looekd at everyone else.

"Did you all know that Nozomi wants to be a singer?" She asked.

"Yuka!" Nozomi said with embarrassment and nervousness.

"A singer?" Kouta asked s he was sipping tea, to which Yuka nodded.

"That sounds nice." Mayu said with a smile.

"I agree," Ben said as he then turned to Nozomi. "What kind of singer? Rock singer? Jazz singer, Country singer?"

"No...Opera..actually." Nozomi said as she put her head down again.

"Cool." Ben said with a smile, promting the girl to look up a bit and blush a bit at hearing Ben say that

"Not to her family though," Yuka said. "Her family is famous and wants her to inherit the business because she is an only child, so they oppose her wish to enter a music college." She said. Everyone was surprised at this, Ben especially. Why would they not want her to enter a music college? If she can sing good, then why would they not let her? It just didn't seem right.

"She wants to enter by relying on her singing abilities." Yuka told them.

"I see..." Kouta said putting his cup down.

"I say you should do it." Ben told the shy girl. "If you have a dream you want to pursue, don't fall back from it, chase your dreams, you won't regret it." He told her. Nozomi looked at him and blushed a bit again. This boy was treating her with a lot of kindness that she was beginning to smile.

"So I allowed her to practice here since she can't practice at home." Yuka said to them.

"Ok then." Kouta said taking a sip from his tea.

Ben had noticed that Mayu was giving him weird looks for a while now...boy this was going to be awkward to explain to her later on tonight. As he was thinking aobut what he was going to say to her, Kouta said something that got him out of his train of thought.

"Let's hear her sing." He said. Nozomi immediately placed her hands over her face to hid her blush.

"I want to hear her sing too, I bet it sounds really lovely." Mayu said.

Nozomi's hands were trembling. "IT ISN'T FOR ANYONE TO HEAR!" She yelled so loud the house shook.

" _Woa!_ " Ben thought with wide eyes. Kouta was not moved, however.

"Oh..so we can be your first audience then?" He asked her. Nozomi looked at him as her face was still red and giving him a worried look. "Please sing?" He asked her.

"We promise, we won't make fun of you or anything." Ben said with a smile on his own.

Noomi looked aorund to see everyone giving her smiles. "W-well...ok then." She said as she calmed down and put her hands over her chest. After taking a big breath she started to sing for them. Everyone in the room immediately went wide-eyed as they heard her. Her voice...it sounded...so good. No, not good...heavenly.

"Wow..." Ben said with amazement.

"I know," Kouta said. "I was going to say something in case she was tone deaf..but sh is gifted..."

"She's gifted by Heaven." Yuka said.

Mayu was listening with a smile on her face. " _So lovely._ " She thought, she then turned to Ben and looked at him. " _I hope you can explain how you did those things today big brother._ " She thought.

* * *

_Yuigahama Beach_

It was sunset now, on the beach, there was a small pod on the sand, and it opened up to reveal Nana, as the steam cleared she looked up into the sky with confusion.

"Where am I?" She asked.

" _Nana._ " She quickly turned to the source of the voice to find a small voice box. "Director Kakuzawa has ordered me to kill you...but I decided to disobey and help you get out of there alive." As Nana was hearing all of this, she was feeling her arms and legs again and her eyes were in shock how could they still be back on? Lucy cut them off. " _The boy you saw at the graveyard fixed your arms and legs and restored them to normal for you._ " Nana's eyes went wide, that boy who fought with her at the graveyard fixed her? How did he do it?! " _I have left you enough Yen in the bag to last you a while, you need to get as far away from here as possible and live in peace, and I promise that I will come to get you one day. Be a good girl and take care of yourself._ " And with that the voice message ended.

Nana looked at the box with some sadness, her papa was not with her. But luckily he said he would come to get her someday, maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday...she was hoping that this would not be forever. As she got out of the pod she started to walk on the beach. And she was amazed.

"Wow...that Ben person really helped me!" Nana said with astonishment. "I hope he is here somewhere so I can thank him for fixing me." She said. As she was still walking, she tripped on a stick. "Ouch." She said as she got up and rubbed the sand off of her dressed, but then she started weeping.

"Papa..what are you doing?" She said as tears came from her eyes. "You will only get in trouble for this." As she was calming down, a gun was heard cocking, she turned to see Bando standing there as he was pointing his gun at her.

"You mind telling me what the hell those things are sticking out of your head?" He asked. "Be careful brat, the wrong answer might get you shot by me." He said with a wicked grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that is everyone. Now I know I sad that Ben was going to explain to Mayu aobut his powers in this chapter, but I think that I will have him explain in the next chapter when he and Msayiu go for a walk and encounter Nana.
> 
> To those of you who read the manga, did I get Nozomi's characterization right? I just want to make sure.
> 
> Also, do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	10. Confrontation on the Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back with another update, last time, we met the shy Nozomi, and we found out that Nana was freed by Kurama, but now she has to deal with Bando, what shall happen? Let's find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Yuigahama Beach_

Nana was staring at Bando as the man was pointing his gun right at her face, but was she scared? No. She didn't even flinch at his little threat nor did the seem fazed in the slightest, she gave him a small glare and turned away.

"Even if there were hundreds..maybe even thousands of you here, you could never beat me." She said to him.

Bando then glared at her as he still had his gun pointed at her. "The hell did you say to me, brat?" He sneered. Nana just still didn't seem fazed.

"You're lucky mister. My Papa told me to be a good girl, so I won't kill you." She said to him. Now it was obvious that she wasn't intending to kill him, she was simply trying to scare him off, hoping he would run away. But unfortunatly, he laughed it off.

"Oh really? You got a gun pointed right at your head and you ain't even fazed the slightest? Then there ain't no denying that fact, you're that bitch's friend aren't you?" He asked. At that point Nana started to walk away, prompting the older man to get angry.

"Don't screw with me brat!" He said as he fired his gun. Nana didn't get hit by the shot, but it seemed as she felt it due to her falling on the sand. As she was getting up, she seemed rather puzzled.

"What..what was that?" She asked herself as she was picking herself up. Bando was walking closer to her.

"It's a custom made .50 caliber tungsten bullet. Unlike those 9mm Parabellum lead bullets, it can't be repelled." He said to her as he cocked the gun again and pointed it at her. "If you got a scratch form that distance...then you'll die if I get closer. But I don't think those hands of you're will reach me." He said snarkily. Nana then got up and glared at him. This guy was going to be a huge obstacle.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben was sitting in his room in thought, after hearing Nozomi sing...god it was...amazing, never had he heard such a voice like that. It was angelic. He was also wondering why her family didn't want her to sing. Why wouldn't they? She is really good after all. As Ben was thinking aobut all fo this, his thoughts were interrupted by his door sliding open, and who came in?

"Uh..H-hello," Nozomi said shyly. Ben smiled up at her.

"Oh, hey Nozomi, what's up?" Ben asked. Nozomi smiled aa bit as she came in to sit on the floor with him.

"I'm alright...just got done with some studying and all that." She said blushing a bit.

"That's cool, oh hey. You have got a nice singing voice there." He said to her. "I heard a lot of songs in my life...mostly rock, but hearing you sing...just wow!" He said making arm movements.

Nozomi was watching and giggled a bit, while also blushing. "Th-thank you...Ben..." Nozomi then looked down and twiddled her fingers a bit. "So...can you tell me...America I mean...is it nice?"

"Oh yea, I mean it ain't perfect, but it is nice there." Ben said. He began telling her about the places he has been, while also omitting the part aobut him dealing with enemy aliens and stuff like that. Nozomi seemed intrigued at hearing all of this. Ben was happy to see that she was smiling a bit more than how she did a few hours ago. "So...if you don't mind me asking...why doesn't your family want you to sing? I mean you are skilled.

Nozomi's smiled faded and was replaced by a look that showed sadness, and hurt. Ben could see this and was nervous.

"Nevermind...I can see that you are upset by thinking about it, so just forget aobut it. I won't press on if it brings up bad memories." He said to her, calming her down a bit.

"Promise?" She asked him. Ben smiled and gave her his right pinky finger.

"Pinky promise." He said with a smile. Nozomi smiled back a little bit and wrapped her pinky around his.

"It's not like I don't trust you...It just..."

"I know." Ben told her.

Nozomi then remembered something. "Oh right...I forgot to tell you...Yuka told me to tell you that it was time to eat." Se said.

"Great!" Ben said. "I am starved." He said as he offered a hand to get up. She smiled and she got up with his help, and the two started to walk to the dining area.

* * *

_Yuigahama Beach_

Nana and Bando were still facing each other.

"What was all that talk about that "hundred of me"? Listen to you stupid little bitch, unless you tell me where she is, I'll go ahead and kill you right now." He said with his gun still pointing at her.

"Where she is? Who are you talking about?" Nana asked, really puzzled. But Bando wasn't having any of it.

"Don't play dumb with me!" He said angrily. "There can't be a coincidence that two girls with pink hair and horns show up in the same small town by accident." He said.

When he said those words. Nana was now interested. "Two girls...you mean Lucy?" Nanan asked.

Bando smirked again as he had his gun on her. "Sounds like you know her after all." He said as he fired again, it didn't hit her but she went down. "But yes, that is her name, now tell me where she is!"

"I-I don't know." Nana said as tears were threatening to spill. Bando growled and pointed the gun at her again.

"You certainly got a death wish on you, don't you brat?" He sneered. Nana was now crying a bit as she was looking at him

"Why...why are you doing this to me?" She said as tears fell own her face. "Papa told me to be a good girl, and I am trying to follow his orders. I did nothing wrong to you." She said.

"Nothing wrong?" Bando asked as he was walking towards her, clearly not buying it.

"I am a good girl and I am going to go away and live peacefully. I'm not going to fight anyone" She said as more tears came out of her eyes. Bando was smirking at her a bit.

"Nothing wrong? Got you're so stupid. You damn monster!" He said as he then kicked her, and she was sent flying back. Bando then quickly got back a few feet. "Shit, I forgot, those hands can reach two meters." He said as he walked back further, and Nanan was getting up. "Listen, you littel bitch, there is nothing peaceful or good aobut horned freaks like yourself. You are nothing but enemies to all of humanity. You and your kind are not welcome here." He said to her.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Nana yelled at him, her eyes red from crying. "Papa would never lie to me!" She said. Bando sighed.

"Use your head brat. You ever wonder why there ain't any other horned freaks like yourself or that Lucy bitch in the world? Ever wonder why you're both so special? That's because we kill you're kind. Right as soon as you are born." He told her. As he was saying this, Nana's eyes were wide and trembling from this...they...get killed...? "And the only reason you are still alive is that you are nothing more than a little guinea pig for their experiments."

"That's a lie.." Nanan said as tears welled up in her eyes again. But Bando wasn't done.

"You Diclonius freaks are nothing more than vermin who carry around that disease virus of yours." He said. "Put on this earth as a Plague."

Nana was furiously shaking her head. "Stop lying!" She said to him. Bando cocked his gun again.

"All I am doing...is getting rid of a pest." He said as he pointed his gun at her again.

Before Nana could argue with him again, she remembered that Kurama told her aobut him disobeying the director's orders to have her killed. As she was remembering hsi, more tears started pouring out of her eyes and she got down on her knees.

"So..my birth was...an accident? There's no place...for me in the world?" She asked.

" _There is child._ " A familiar voice said in her head. " _All you got to do..is kill everyone._ " It said.

"Took you long enough to get it." Bando smirked at her. "So..you going to tell me where Lucy is? Or am I going to have to kill you?" He asked.

Nana got up and brushed the sand off of her knees and faced Bando again, and her eyes...they looked like Lucy's, dilated and murderous.

"If there's no place for me...then I just have to kill everyone here." She said as the sand around her began to move.

" _Good child..good._ " the voice whispered wickedly.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Everyone was now sitting down at the dining area. Ben was sitting next to Nyu as he was watching her

"So what were you doing with Nozomi earlier?" Kouta asked the horned girl. Who looekd at him with a confused look.

"Nyu?" She said. Kouta sighed.

"Nevermind...why do I bother asking." He said. Nozomi was blushing a bit.

"Well...I was teaching her how to sing...I thought it would be alright." She said while twidling her fingers.

"It's alright," Yuka said with a smile. "How did she do?"

"She was...really good," Nozomi said with some awe and interest. "She was picking up on the song I was teaching her."

"What song is it?" Ben asked.

"It's called Lillium, it's a really nice song. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Nope, like I said before. I am more of a Rock music guy than classical: no offense." Ben told Nozomi, who giggled a bit and told him no worries.

Nyu was watching and couldn't help it..but she felt upset a bit that Ben was talking to Nozomi instead of her. She started to poke Ben on the shoulder, prompting him to look at her.

"What is it Nyu?" He asked. Nyu opened her mouth, much to his confusion, she then eyed the rice in her bowl, and he got the message. "Wait...you want me to feed you?" He asked. Nyu nodded her head with a small smile. "Ok then..." Ben said as he then grabbed some rice and fed it to her.

"Weird, Nyu has been able to eat fine." Yuka said in thought.

"I know..." Kouta said to her. Mayu was looking at Ben as Nyu was giggling at him.

"I'm going to take Wanta for a walk after dinner." Mayu told Yuka. "Can Ben come along with us?"

Ben was nervous, he knew she asked him to come with her because she wanted answers..and he was going to do it.

"Sure thing, you don't mind do you Ben?" Yuk asked.

"No probs." Bens said with a smile, but on the inside, he was nervous...hopefully, Mayu doesn't find him crazy...

* * *

_Yuigahama Beach_

Bando was smirking as teh young Diclonius girl was waling to him.

"So..you're finally showing your true self huh? The other one acted all innocent as well." He said as he ran a little bit further, and stopped as he pointed the gun at her again. "Well now yo-"

**BAM**

Bando was immediately struck right in his...neither regions, and he dropped hsi gun in pain.

"GGAHHHH!" He screamed as he got on his knees and clutched his groin. "YOU BITCH! YOU HIT MY BALLS, YOU GODAMM BITCH!" He yelled as he was withing in pain.

" _That's im-impossible though..._ " He thought as she was still in pain. " _I was out of he range..._ " But his train of thought was interrupted as he was hit again, this time in the face and he was sent flying on his back. As he was aobut to get up, his arms were pinned to the sand by Nana who looked down at him with her murderous eyes.

"If you beg for it," Nana said. "I might let you live..." She said. Bando's eye's widened and flashed back to that night a few weeks ago with Lucy. He growled and got out another gun.

"I got one more packing, brat!" He said as he fired. The bullet didn't go right through the girl's head, but grazed it a bit, causing her to bleed. And that wasn't the only thing that happened to her, Bando's robotic arm shattered and broke. "Shit...I should have known that my robot arm couldn't handle the kick from a .50 caliber round." He said.

The shot had brought Nana back to her sense, but when she felt the top of her head, she saw teh blood.

"Blood?" She said to herself, then she felt the pain and was beginning to cry. "It hurts! Papa, help me. Please help me, Papa!" She said as she was starting to cry. Bando watched this and was in disbelief.

" _Are you freaking kidding me?_ " He thought in disbelief. Nana rubbed tears from her eyes as she then looekd down at Bando.

"Hey mister, what happened to your arm?" She asked.

"Are you serious!" He asked. "That Lucy bitch did this to me! That freak friend of yours!" He said to her.

"Lucy is not my friend!" Nana said to him in defiance. "My body was torn apart by her, and if I had the chance, I would want to do the same thing to her!" She said as she calmed down a bit. Bando smirked a bit.

"Huh guess that means that you and I share a common enemy." He told her.

"Yea...Lucy..is my enemy." She said as she then looked around the beach. "but it doesn't seem like she is aorund here though..."

"What do you mean?" Bando asked her.

Nana looked down t him. "We can sense eachother presence if we are far apart." She told him.

"No shit, are you serious?" Bando asked, surprised, as Nana nodded her head.

Nana then got a big smile on her face. "Hey! You and I should work together!" She said. Bando didn't say anything to that remark, just gave off a deep frown to the idea. "I mean because you and I would have a much better chance of fighting Lucy if we were to work together!" Nana said.

Bando was always the kind of guy who did things alone, and just the idea of working with a little girl to fight Lucy? Not his cup of tea.

"Forget it kid, I plan on fighting Lucy by myself. You'll just get in my way." He said to her. That caused Nana to frown a bit.

"Oh...ok then..." She said as she then began to walk away, but not before Bando called out to her again.

"So...you can feel that bitch's presence when she comes around?" he asked, prompting Nana to nod her head. "Well then let me know then." He said as he handed her a piece of paper, much to the girl's confusion.

"What is this?" She asked. Bando sighed in irritation.

"What do you think, dummy? It's a phone number."

"What's a cell phone?" She asked.

"Never mind," Bando said in irritation and was rubbing his forehead. "Just let me know when that Lucy girl comes around, you got it?"

"Hold on!" Nanan said, outraged by him giving g her orders. "You can't just-" She then looked over at Bando's broken hand and offered him a hand up. "I don't want to shake your hand, but you look like you need a hand to get up on." She said.

Bando sighed and grabbed her hand, but then she let go and he fell right back on the sand. "You bitch! You did that on purpose, didn't you?... Idiot." He growled.

"Sorry about that." Nana said.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben was helping clear the table for dinner. He was bringing his plate, Nozomi's plate, Nyu's plate, and Mayu's plate all in at the same time.

"How did I get roped into this?" He asked himself bringing the plates in the kitchen, where he saw Yuka scrubbing. "Here you go Yuka." He told her.

"Thanks, Ben, you can go with Mayu now on that walk, she said she would be waiting by the door for you."

"Ok, thanks." He said. As he was walking to the door, he grabbed his green jacket and passed by Nozomi, who has had some paper in her hands. "Music?"

"Yes..." Nozomi said. " I'm going to try to teach Nyu...how to sing some more..." She said shyly.

"Cool, I'm going to go walk with Mayu and Wanta, in case I don't see you when you come back. Have a good night." He said to her.

"Y-you too..." She said with a small smile on her face. Ben then went to the door grabbed his shoes and walked outside to see Mayu.

"Hey, Mayu." Ben said.

"Hey, Ben..." Mayu said nervously and teh two began to walk. It was pretty awkward for the most part because the two of them didn't say much. Ben decided to break teh ice.

"Mayu," Ben began. "I know you are probably wondering aobut...what happened today...at the beach...and I understand if you don't trust me or hate me, bu-"

"I don't hate you!" Mayu said to him, outranged that he would ever think such a thing. "I would never hate you Ben, you are like my big brother...and you promised you would protect me...I would never hate you, plus you protected me from that man today...I just want to know...how did you do it?"

Ben sighed. "Well...it all happened when-" But he was interrupted by Wanta, who was barking and running off.

"Wanta! Wait!" Mayu called out in worry. Ben sighed and began to follow them.

" _This is going to be a long night I can already tell._ " He thought.

* * *

_Jouju-in Cemetary_

Nana was sitting by herself in the cemetery. The same one where she fought against Lucy and lost. After wandering the city for a bit, she tried to get something to say, but was told that the thing she wanted was 500 Yen, and sh left, thinking that she didn't have that much money. Now she was using the papers she had as kindling for the fire as she was resting by it.

"This is the same place where I lost to Lucy..." She said as she remembered her being ripped limb-from-limb. " I wonder...if Papa did abandon me here..just like that man said..." She then pressed her handbag to her face as she started to weep a bit. "Papa...I wish you were here...I don't know what to do..." Shen said as she started to weep a bit. Just then she heard a weird noise coming nearby and she quickly looked up.

Approaching up the stairs was Wanta and Mayu approaching.

"I'm sorry..but my dog is usually not thi-" Mayu then gasped as soon as she saw the girl. Nana wiped her tears away as she got up. " _It's that girl.._ " She thought as she then remembered about the girl's leg being cut off. " _But..how is she standing?_ "

"Mayu!" Ben called out as he was going up the steps. "Man, you need to sl-" When Ben saw Nana, his eyes widened with shock and surprise. " _Nana..._ " He thought. " _Thank god she is alright...but why is she dirty?_ "

When Nana saw Ben, her sadness faded and she had a really big smile as tears were coming out of her eyes, she bolted over to him and knocked him down while hugging in tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Nana cried into his chest. Ben was surprised but then gave her a small smiled she patted her head.

"Don't worry aobut it Nana, I'm just glad you're feeling better." He said while getting both her and himself up.

"You helped her?" Mayu asked him. Ben looked at her.

"Long story, I'll explain later." He told her. Mayu nodded as Nana looked over at Mayu.

"Are you ok? You look pale." Nana told the girl. Mayu shook her head and smiled a bit.

"I'm alright,... it's just that...nevermind."

After a few minutes, the three had sat down by the fire. Nana was looking overt the two to see them looking at her funny.

"It's my horns isn't it?" She asked.

"Well, I mean." Mayu said nervously. Ben didn't seem to care, he thought they looekd cute.

"I know..they aren't nomral." Nana said sadly. Mayu then looked at her as if she was crazy.

"That's not true." she said. Nana's eyes perked up when he heard this. "I think they look cute." she said. Nana immediately went over and grabbed her by the hands.

"Really? you mean that?" She asked the girl, who nodded her head. Nana giggled as she grabebd them. "To tell you the truth I always thought they were cute myself!" She squealed in happiness. Ben looked on and was smiling at this act of kindness, especially from a girl who only met Nana for a few seconds.

"You know..there's a girl we kn-" But Mayus was interrupted by Nana.

"I got a question." she asked as she twirled and accidentally kicked a Jizo statue, prompting Ben and Mayu to rais their hands in caution. "Do you think...you can both be my friends?" Nana asked with uncertainty and nervousness in her voice.

"You're friends?" Mayu asked as she then looked at Ben, who looekd back and looked confused.

Nana nodded. "I grew up in this...facility, and I know nothing aobut the outside world, but now I really don't have a home to go back to. I also have nothing o eat, I can bear it..but I'm just so lonely..."Nana said with sadness.

As she was talking Mayu's began to shake a bit and her hand was on her chest as she was touche and saddened by Nana's plight she wasn't the only one thought. Ben was also touched and saddened.

"What happened to that Kurama guy?" Ben thought. And what facility was she talking aobut? God, this was getting difficult...

"Ok then." Mayu said as Nana looked up. "I'd be very happy to be your friend, and I'm sure Ben feels the same way." Ben looked started but smiled nonetheless.

"She's right, I'll be your friend squirt. At that moment Nana ran up to them both.

"Really? you will?"

"Yep!" Ben said with a smile.

"I'm Nana...what's yours?"

"Mayu...My name's Mayu..." She said with a smile.

"You already know who I am." Ben said with a smile on his face.

Soon the three were now by the can, with Wanta cuddling up in Mayu's lap.

"You are both the real first friends I have." Nana told them. Ben looekd at her sadly.

"Poor kid, I don't know what that facility was like, but I want to find out." He thought. All of a sudden the fire started to dim. Causing Nana to pout.

"Oh shoot, the fire's going out fast again." She said as he reached into her bag. "These papers are worthless." She said as she got out a wad of money. When Ben and Mayu saw that they face-faulted.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" they comically yelled at her promoting Mayu to go wide-eyed.

"Don't burn that! That's Yen!" Mayu said as he grabebd the money and took them away from her.

( _Eyecatch of Ben as Jetray giving Mayu and Nana a ride_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Nyu riding on Ben as Wildmutt_ )

After a few moments, they were able to put out the fire while trying to explain to Nana about its uses. After teasing her a bit about a spell. They all calmed down.

"So Ben..." Mayu said. "Can you...explain how you did that today?" She asked nervously. Nana's eyes went wide.

"Yea! I want to know too!" she said. "How did you turn into that green thing? And that floating thing?"

Ben looked at teh younger girls nervously. IT was either now..or never.

"Ok...so have any of you ever heard of the multiverse theory?" He asked, the two girls looekd at him confusingly. "Of course...well, there is a theory that out there, there re other places...like...world different from our own. Like there is an alternate Earth that exists somewhere...it's kinda hard to explain, but do you get it?" He asked.

"Kinda...not really," Mayu said nervously. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, not alot of people do. But to tell you the truth...I am not from this place...well, not this world to be truthful." He said the two girls were confused. "I come from an Earth that is way different from this one, one where Di-" Ben stopped himself as soon as he saw Nana. "One where girls with horns are not common at all."

"Really?" Nana asked in curiosity.

"Yep, and as for how I transformed into those things? Well..." He then rolled his sleeve up to reveal to them the Omnitrix on his wrist. "All because of this." Mayu and Nana took a closer look at teh Omnitrix with curious and confused looks.

"Your watch allowed you to do that?" Mayu asked.

"What's a watch?" Nana asked. Ben sighed.

"I'll tell you later Nana, but yes it does. This watch of mine is special...it's called the Omnitrix, it allows me to transform into those things you al witness, they're called aliens." He said to them.

Aliens..." Mayu said as her they widened. "You mean as in...alines..from outer space!?" She asked.

"Yeppers." Ben told her. Mayu looked at the Omnitrix with wide eyes. A watch that allowed her big brother to turn into aliens? This was so much to take in...Nana was not doing so well either, she was just so confused aobut what they were talking aobut, her head was hurting.

"Oh..thi sis all hurting my head, this is so much to take in." Nana complained as she was holding her head.

"I know it's alot to take in, but you'll understand real soon Nana." Ben told her. "And since we are here alone...I guess I can show you both a few of my forms. He said as he activated teh Omnitrix, and cycled through, much to both the girl's amazement and curiosity, he chose one and slammed teh dial down. In his place was Goop.

"This form I named Goop." He said. Mayu and Nana looekd on as their eyes went wide with shock and amazement.

"Wow...!" Mayu said with wide eyes. Nana walked right up to him and poked him a bit, only to find that her hand was sinking into his skin.

"Ahh! she shouted with worry. "Help, I'm being sucked it!" She cried in worry, Mayu quickly rant o her and she grabebd her one arm as she pulled her back from Goob, who looked sheepish.

"Sorry aobut that, but you would have been fine, since I am made of goo, you could have just fell right through and you would have been fine." He said.

Nana looekd up and had a blush on her face, most likely from embarrassment. Mayu giggled a bit at the confusion and patted Nana's shoulder in apologetic grace.

"Let me show you one more." He told them as he then pressed the dial and he then turned into Four Arms.

"This form I call Four Arms...because of my...well Four Arms." He boasted a bit.

So huge!" Mayu and Nana said in awe, Mayu and Nana circled aorund his to take a good look at him to see his red hug body and his muscles.

"I got to change back now." He told them.

"Awe, just one more please?" Nana begged. Four Arms shook his head as he turned back into Ben.

"I can't overuse this, it needs time to recharge. Let's all go back to Mapel Inn, you can stay there for a while." Ben told Nana.

"Oh yea, Nana!" Mayu said to the girl. "There is another girl there at teh house, another girl who has horns on her head just like yours."

"Like me..." Nana said as Benthen noticed her eyes becoming a little bit dark. Ben was worried, this was not going to be a good reunion.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Kouta was by the door as he was getting hsi shoes on.

"they've been gone for a while, I'm going to go look for them." Kouta said.

"Have you forgotten that Ben is with them?" Yuka asked as Nyu and Nozomi were behind her.

"I know, but I just want to make sure they are alright." Kouta said to them.

"Well ok then.." Yuka said, unknown to her, Nyu was walking up behind her and...groped her. "KYAA Nyu stop!" Nyuk called out but Nyu was not doing such thing and was giggling as she was doing it. Nozomi was blushing a bit as he was trying to pry the girl off of her.

"Seriously where did Nyu pick this kind of behavior up?" Kouta asked.

"Nevermind, just look for Mayu and Ben!" Yuka called out as Kouta sighed as he walked out.

Meanwhile, Ben and Mau were outside the house showing it to Nana

"Well, welcome to our tiny abroad." Ben said to her. Nana was inspecting the place curiously.

"She doesn't seem to be here.." She said.

Huh? What do you mean?" Mayu asked. As Nana was aobut to answer her, teh door opened up and Kouta came out, when he saw Mayu and Ben, he was relieved.

"There you both are, what happened?" He asked.

"We lost track of time." Ben said sheepishly. Kouta sighed in annoyance.

"you do know you have a watch..right?" Kout asked Ben. Ben then sheepishly rubbed teh back of his head.

"I forgot...hehe." Kouta sighed a bit, but when he saw Nana his eyes went wide. He then went towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Wh do you have those horns? Where did you come from? What are you?" He asked as he shook her rigidly, he wanted answers and he wanted them now, but he was not aware that he was scaring the girl stuffly.

"Kouta stop!" Mayu called to him. Kouta then looked at Mayu and back to Nana, who had a look of fright on her face as he let go.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what got into me." He said.

"Me and Ben made friends with her on our walk. She wants to meet with Nyu." Mayu told the older boy.

Ben was still dreading this, however. After knowing what went down between the two at the graveyard a week ago, this was not going to be a happy reunion. Especially since Lucy was in her Nyu persona at this point in time.

"Yes I did ..but now that I think about it..I don't think this Nyu person is teh one I'm looking for." Nana said as she was aobut to turn around and leave.

Wait, Nana!" Mayu said s she tried to grab her sleeve, but she accidentally ripped a piece of the fabric off.

"Oh boy..." Ben sweatdropped.

"I'm so sorry!" Mayu said putting her hands over her mouth with fright.

"Well...could you at least stay here so I can ask some questions?" Kouta asked her. Nana was unsure, but as she was aobut to answer Ben came up to her.

"We found her sitting alone in the cemetery by herself and sh seems hungry, can we get her something to eat? We got lots of leftovers so..."

When Ben mentioned dinner, Nana's mouth began to water. "Dinner?" she asked.

Kouta gave her a small smile. "Sure, let me just go in and fix you a plate, you can come along." He said as they all began to follow the boy to the house. Meanwhile, Nyu was still groping Yuka, and Nozomi was not having any success in getting her off.

"Nozomi! get her off!" Yuka cried.

"I'm trying!" Nozomi said as she was trying to get the horned girl off of Yuka. Nyu still had her happy face on as she kept on squeezing Yuka's breasts. At that point, they heard the door rustling.

"Oh, they must be back. Yuk said with relief, Nyu let go of her and ran to the door with excitement.

"Kouta! Ben!" She called out with happiness. Meanwhile, Kout was trying to open he door, but it was either broken or jammed up.

"Stupid thing.." Kouta said.

"I know the feeling dude." Ben said, he also had troubles with doors that wouldn't open at times.

"This is a big house!" Nana said with astonishment.

"It used to be a traditional Japanese restaurant before it closed." Mayu told her, much to the Diclonius's confusion.

"Restaurant?" Nana asked.

"Ok..she has alot to learn aobut the real world." Ben thought. At that moment the door opened suddenly, startling Kouta and at the entrance stood Nyu with happiness on her face.

"Kouta!" She said with happiness. Ben noticed that Nana's eyes went wide with fury and he became worried. Then all of a sudden, the windows of teh door shattered and Nana tackled Nyu and tossed her threw the door. Much to the other horror.

"NYU!" Ben called out with worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's that everyone...so Nana reunited with Ben and met Mayu. The two girls now know of Ben's secret, but can they keep it a secret from the others? Who knows.
> 
> So the next chapter...Ben shall be exploring into Lucy/Nyu's mind and witness firsthand how she became who she is now...this is going to be a doozy to write
> 
> Now we saw some of the DNA voice speak to Nana in this chapter, now like I said. I do have a theory on that voice itself, but I might explain on the next chapter.
> 
> Also, do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and always happy to answer any questions.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	11. The Trouble at Maple Inn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last time on Ultimate Lied, Ben reunited with Nana and she also met Mayu and Wanta, after they took her back to Maple Inn. She saw NYu and attacked her, thinking it was Lucy. What will happen in this chapter? Let's find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

Nyu was sent flying back into the house by an angry Nana. After she was then sent flying, everyone was horrified.

"Nyu!" Yuka called out worriedly as both she, Nozomi, and Myu went to help her up. Ben was stilled standing by the door in shock, he looked at Nana with a look of disapproval on her face.

" _Nana, you should not have done that..._ " He said mentally as he ran over to help the girls get Nyu up, all this time, Nana was looking on in perplex.

"Wh-what? Why isn't she..."

"Hey!" An angry Kouta said. As Nana turned aorund to face him, he slapped her right across the face, something that didn't go unnoticed by Ben.

"Woah, dude!" Ben said going up to them. "I know you're angry but we don't hit girls!" He said to him. But Kouta was not listening, he was too mad at Nana for hurting Nyu. Nana's face was red from the salp as she turned to the boy angrily.

"Don't you dare hit me!" She said to him.

"Then you better not touch my friend." He said angrily. "Now tell me...why did you do that to her?" he asked. Ben could see that tensions were getting high, he had to stop this before a fight tor a bloodbath could break out. But Mayu jumped right in.

"I'm sorry." She said as they faced her. "I'm so sorry, it's my fault this happened." Mayu said as tears came out of her eyes. Nana could see them all looking at her and she then saw Ben, who was giving her a sad look. What was going on? Why are they taking Lucy's side over hers?

"Why is everyone taking her side?" Nana cried out pointing at the unconscious Nyu. "I'm a good one! She's the bad one! So why is everyone taking Lucy's side?"

"Lucy?" Mayu wondered. Ben sighed mentally, this was going to be a long complicated story to tell her.

"I'm the good one...not her..." She said as she was starting to break. Meanwhile, Yuka and Nozomi were still trying to see if Nyu was alright.

"Is she alright?" Ben called out concerningly.

"Yes..but I think she might be unconscious." Nozomi said to him. Kouta immediately went over to check the other and Ben was leaning against the wall and rubbing his face with a heavy sigh. Nana looked aorund with some tears going down her eyes and she tried to run out of the house.

"Nana wait!" Mayu called out. Ben grabbed her hand, but she then pulled away and gave him a sad and betrayed look.

"Nana wait you don't understa-" But Ben was cut off by Nana.

"I thought you were my friend...you helped be fight her back in the graveyard and you fixed my arms and legs for me...I thought YOU WERE MY FRIEND!" She shouted at him as she then ran off crying. Leaving Ben to sigh a bit as he slumped down.

"Nana...you don't understand..." He whispered sadly. He felt someone touch his shoulders and he looekd up to see Mayu, who was giving him a sympathetic look.

"I'll go after her, you just take help take care of Nyu." She told him, as she then gave him a big hug and ran after Nana. Ben looked on. as she left.

"Good luck squirt.." Ben said as he went back to the house.

* * *

_Stone Steps_

Mayu was walking all aorund looking for Nana, she wanted to know why she did that to Nyu back there..and what exactly her history was with her. When hse saw Nana, she saw teh girl sitting on the steps with her face buried in her legs.

"Nana! You forgot your bag!" Mayu called out, but when Nana saw Mayu coming to her she was not happy.

"I don't want it!" She said.

"Wha-" but Mayu was cut off by Nana.

"Don't act like you're my friend, you are just like everyone...even Ben...he healed me and he is treating me like a bad person to..." Nana said as she started walking away.

"Nana wait!" Mayu said as she grabbed onto Nana's arm.

"Let go!" Nana cried, but Myu wouldn't because she wanted to talk, as Nana was trying to pull away, Mayu accidentally ripped off another piece of fabric from the dress, causing two to stumble down. Wanta was watching all of this with worry.

* * *

_Michibiki Jizoudou_

Nana, Mayu, and Wanta were sitting together at a nearby temple, with Nana facing away and Wanta in Mayu's lap. It was a littel bit awkward due to them not speaking for a few minutes, but Mayu decided to break teh ice a bit.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but you were the one who started attack Nyu." Mayu said gently to the girl. "Did...something happen between the two of you?" She asked. Nana looekd at Mayu and hesitated to answer but turned he head away.

"I won't tell you, because Papa told me to keep quiet." Nana huffed. Mayu, however, was still not sure.

"But...Nyu couldn't be bad...I just don't see it in her."

Nana was thinking aobut when she was in there, she realized that Lucy didn't even bother fighting back, she could have easily gotten up and faced her again, but she did not. Nana just couldn't get it.

" _That was Lucy alright...but I didn't feel her presence though..._ " Nana thought. " _Maybe...I can beat her for good this time..and Papa...will be proud of me._ "

Nana...why did you call her Lucy?" Mayu asked. Nana looked at the girl with some uncertainty, should she tell her? After giving it a few minutes, she decided to relent and explain to Mayu who Lucy really is.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Nyu was laying down in her room, with Nyu and Ben right at her side. At this moment Kouta walked in.

"Nozomi has gone home for the night." He said to them. "She said she would be back tomorrow for her studies. She also hopes Nyu gets better." He said to them.

"Ok than." Yuka said with a small smile. Kouta walked over to them, he saw that Ben was holding Nyu's hand, prompting him to feel a bit jealous, but shook it off to check on her face.

"Haa...Haaa" She said as she was breathing heavy.

"I don't think it's just because of the attack." Ben said. "I think she is ill as well."

"I agree." Kouta said as he rubbed Nyu's face a bit, prompting both Yuka and Ben to feel a bit jealous.

"Should we take her to the hospital?" Yuka asked. Both Ben and Kouta looked worried as she said that, they were remembering what Arakawa told them about horned girls getting killed..s what were they to do? Thye would have to take her if she got even worse..and that would cause trouble for everyone...

"Well let's hope we don't have to take her." Kouta said as Ben nodded.

"I agree with him." Ben said, prompting Yuka to look at him concerningly. "Let's just see how she feels..if sh get's worse..than we will have to take her eventually."

"Ben!" Kouta exclaimed.

"What else can we do?" Ben shot back at him. "She gets worse and we can't do a thing aobut it, what else can we do?"

"Boys, please," Yuka said trying to diffuse the situation. "Let's not fight right now...especially with Nyu knocked out like this." she said, at the moment Nyu was beginning to stir, causing everyone to look at her with concern

* * *

_Michibiki Jizoudou_

No, You're wrong!" Mayu said loudly, not wanting to believe what Nana had told her. "Nyu would never do those things."

"It's true though, she escaped from the lab and killed alot of people...the when I went to go looking for her, she chopped off my arms and legs...but Ben fixed me up..."Nana said in a soft voice, she was really grateful for Ben for fixing her up.

Mayu was shocked, this couldn't be true. "But..she couldn't do that...even if she wanted to.." Mayu said. Nana then got off the bench and stared at her.

"I know you are wondering aobut my horns...me and Lucy..we aren't humans at all, it ain't just the horns that sperate us, but you can't really see them." She said. At that moment a few of her vectors had come out, but as she said, Mayu was unable to see them. "I'm about to show you now" She said as she then launched a vector at a nearby Jizo Statue, that was then cut in half, promoting Mayu to go wide-eyed in surprise and shock.

"Lucy and I were born with hands that are different than what you humans have." Nana explained to the surprised girl. Nana showed her proof by sending a vector over to the of the statue she cut and brought it to show her since Mayu couldn't see the vectors, all she saw was that the head was floating in midair.

" _So..it wasn't a dream...that man was telling the truth._ " Mayu thought.

"My arms and legs were originally cut off...but Papa told me that Ben had fixed me up...he did..an amazing job, it feels like they were never cut off, to begin with." The Diclonius girl said with amazement in her voice. "But Lucy and I are totally different, I would never hurt anyone." Nana said but then gasped as she then went wide-eyed. "Oh darn it! I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. What do I do?" Nana said as she was freaking out a bit.

Mayu didn't know how to handle this situation. Horned girls...invisible hands? This was alot to take in, even more than Ben's suppose transformations, but she was still unsure aobut how Nana think of Nyu though...

"You know," Mayu began as Nana looked back at her. "Nyu never did anything bad..at least not while I was around, she is one of the most innocent people know, and hse is always happy. And whenever I am with her...I feel happy as well." Nana looked at Mau and furrowed her eyes a bit, feeling somewhat regretful for what she did. "And those hands...she never used them. You have to believe me, Nyu is totally different from the gril you are familiar with!"

Nana turned her head towards the sky in thought. If what Mayu said was true then...but there was no mistaking that girl she met was, in fact, Lucy, but she just couldn't sense her presence.

"There is no doubt..that girl I saw was indeed Lucy..but I didn't sense her, this Nyu person..is alot different than the girl I am familiar with...maybe... I have a better chance of beating her like this." Nana said with some thought.

"You can't!" Mayu said to her. This was all making Nana so confused and stressed out, should she do it? Part of her wanted to so badly...but at teh same time..she didn't.

"Oh!" Nana said grabbing her face as she was nearly in tears. "I don't know what to do! I can't fight someone who isn't going to fight back! Papa...what should I do? Papa..." Nana said as she started to cry a bit, prompting Myu to look concerned at her.

"Nana..." Mayu said concerningly.

* * *

_Mapel Inn_

Kouta, Yuka, and Ben were still sitting down watching over Nyu. Ben was getting concerned, her fever was still there and it looked like it wasn't going down.

"Darn it, the fever is still there." Ben said through gritted teeth.

"If she keeps getting this sick then we have to take her to the hospital!" Yuka said concerningly.

"I know," Kouta said. "but..it's just too risky.." He said as he put his head down in shame.

"Just relax dude, we'll figure something out." Ben said as he grabbed a wet washcloth and wiped Nyu's forehead a bit, and he also noticed that she was starting to stir. "hey guys!" Ben said. "She is beginning to wake up!" He said with happiness in his voice.

"Nyu!" they all cried out.

* * *

_Michibiki Jizoudou_

Nana put her head up as she gasped, causing Mayu to get concerned.

"Nana?" Mayu said. "What's wrong?" She asked concerningly. Nana is looking ahead, ehr head sweating.

"Lucy's awake!" Nana said.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute/ Directors Office_

Director Kakusawa was in his office as he was staring out the window in thought, and he wasn't alone, as Kurama was with him as well.

"Even though she is Kakuzawa's assistant, why would you bring an outsider here?" Kurama asked the director.

"As she was my son's assistant, she knows everything aobut his research." He said not looking back at him.

Kurama looked at the director with curiosity. "All I am saying sir, is that if you are trying to figure out a vaccine for the virus...then I am sure that there is a possibility that we can discover it outside the institution."

Kakuzawa just chuckeld at this thought, something that confused Kurama.

"Vaccine? I was never interested in making a vaccine..I'm trying to get the virus itself." He said, but this made Kuramam even more confused.

"Forgive me sir...but I don't understand the intention here."

Kakuzawa sighed. "Because Lucy is at the top, I shall reinvent all of humanity." He said with a grin.

Kurama was confused. What aobut the research? What about their hopes for a vaccine? And what was he talking aobut reinventing humanity? "But sir..what about the mission?"

"Don't you see Kurama? Humanity is at the path of extinction...it has to end, and Lucy's birth is enough proof of their decline." Kakuzawa said as he turned to face Kurama. "Don't you understand? I am doing God's work."

"Th-that's crazy." Kurama said. Kakuzawa didn't like that comment as he then took out his pistol and pointed it at Kurama.

"You better watch who you're speaking to Kurama. You owe me a debt fo gratitude already, and I'll be dammed if you show disloyalty to me again." The director snarled as he put his gun away and he faced the window again. "I know you sent number #7 away from here." Kurama's eyes went wide with surprise and shock. "I am going to have #35 to kill #7 and bring Lucy back." He then faced Kurama again and frowned. "You already disobeyed me once, you better start showing some loyalty from here on out..or else..." He said as Kurama said nothing more, just nodding and bowing as he walked out.

" _Shit!_ " Kurama thought. " _Nana...please be someplace far away from here._ "

( _Eyecatch of Kurama and Nana eating some Ice Cream_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Ben laying on the roof and looking up in the sky_ )

_Maple Inn_

"Nyu? Are you ok?" Kouta asked urgently.

"Do you hurt anywhere?" Ben asked as Lucy began to sit up, her hair covering her eyes. She glares out at them from behind her hair as she pushes the blanket off of her and gets up on her feet, and starts to walk to the door, although her steps were wobbly and uneasy.

"Wait!" Kouta said. "Where're you going?" He asked. Lucy was still stepping out into the halls, still wobbly. As Yuka looks on.

"Maybe she's going to the bathroom?" She suggested.

"Yuka," Bens said. "Nyu isn't going to the right direction though." Tru to his word, Lucy was not going in the right direction where the bathroom is located at. Lucy put her hand on a wall and another hand on her head.

"There are parts of my memory that are missing..." She said as she continued walking. Kout and Ben start following her as she then leaned on the grandfather clock.

"Nyu! Where are you going?" Kotua asked.

"I'm going to teach that little bitch a lesson she won't forget." she said in a hoarse whisper. But she is not able to make it far as she then collapses against the clock, while also sliding down and nearly hitting the flor until Kouta and Ben both catch her.

"Not trying to be rude here..but you're the one acting stupid." Kouta said softly. "You need to stay in bed." He said.

Lucy then lifted her head up to face Kouta, with her looking at him with an innocent face and blushing.

"Kouta..." she said, she then turned to Ben, who was giving her a concerned look. Lucy..well she didn't know what was going on, but when she saw him, she was also blushing and giving him an innocent look. "Tennyosn.." She said, prompting the boy to get confused.

When they all got back to the room, Kouta had Lucy lay down in the bed with the wet cloth on her head, he was standing by the door with Yuka and Ben was sitting on the floor right by her.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Ben said to her. Lucy looked at him and was still blushing, but giving a frown at him.

" _Why...why am I feeling like this towards him? He is nothing more than a filthy human...but.I can't help but feel...happy around him, just like Kouta._ " Lucy thought, Ben then grabbed her hand and started to rub it gently, prompting Lucy to turn away, but she could not help but blush even further at feeling the smoothness of his hand on hers.

Ben was looking at her with some concern and wanted to talk to her alone.

"Hey, guys!" Ben said to the two cousins. "Is it alright if you can give me and Nyu some privacy for a moment?" He asked. Kouta and Yuka looked at eachother and both seemed to be fine with it..sorta.

"Ok..just don't do anything weird..got it Ben?" Yuka said giving him a glare, prompting Ben to sweat nervously.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He said giving her a nervous smile.

"Good, and Nyu, don't do anything weird now." She told the horned girl as Lucy looked at her with both annoyance and confusion.

"I'll be back to check up in a moment, Nyu." Kouta called out as he and Yuka walked out, leaving both the Diclonius and the Omnitrix-wielding superhero alone.

"I want to know something.." Ben said. "I do not know much aobut Diclonius's." He said, and Lucy immediately turned her head at him and glared. "But I want to know...what is going on? Why did you attack me and separate Nana's arms back at the graveyard?" He asked, Lucy didn't answer him, just glared at him. "Nyu..please, I just want to know, because I want to help."

"You? Help?" Lucy snarked. "You are nothing but a filthy human...why would you want to help me? I'm a monster...a freak." Ben could see that her lips were quivering a bit at.

"Nyu...you're not a freak, so what if you have horns? I think they look cute actually, like a cat's ears." He said. Lucy still wasn't buying it, but she was also blushing a bit.

"Tennyson...you don't know anything about me...I killed alot of people." She said.

"Why would you say that? I know you are a Diclonius, but you could never kill anyone though, you're nice, sweet...beautiful...cute..." Ben was trailing with him gaining blush on his cheeks.

Lucy was also blushing. This boy...this human..was making her blush. But why? The only human she ever loved one only loved was Kouta...so why was she feeling like this towards Tennyson? Could this be...

But it was interrupted by Kouta entering the room, prompting both the Diclonus and Superhero to look at him.

"How is she Ben?" Kouta asked.

"Seems fine, that fever is still there though.." He said as Kotua came into the room. Ben could see that Nyu was getting sleepy and he got an idea.

" _I wonder...maybe if I go Pesky Dust...I can enter her mind and see what she is dreaming about..I have been hearing her whimper in her dreams a few times in the night...maybe I might know something aobut her.._ " He thought, he then got up.

"I'm going to go for a short walk," Ben said. "I'll be back in a while."

"Ok, be safe out there." Kouta said to him. Lucy didn't say anything, but she did think of something though.

" _Ben..._ " she thought while still blushing.

Ben got his shoes and jacket and walked outside, she then sneaked around the house and activated his Omnitrix, and when he activated it, he pushed on the dial and turned into Pesky Dust.

"Alright- _prrrr_ -let's find out what Nyu's-prrrr-dreaming about." He said as he then flew around the house to look into the window, he could see Kout still sitting there and Nyu was aobut to fall asleep.

" _gotta distract him._ " Pesky though, he saw a small rock on the ground and picked it up, he opened the window just a tiny bit and threw the rock inside, with it lading in the hallway and making a noise.

"What the heck?" Kouta wondered as he got up really quick to go see. "I'll be right back Nyu." He said to Lucy as he left the room. Pesky Dust sighed in relief as he then flew into the room. When Lucy saw him, her eyes went wide and blushed even more.

"Wha...what the hell are you?" She asked in shock.

"Relax- _prrrr_ -I just want to know- _prrrr_ -what is going on- _prrrr_." Pesky Dust said. "And about my form- _prrrr_ \- well that's another story- _prrrr_."

Lucy was not so sure. She was eying this...thing carefully and looked up at the ceiling.

" really want to know...than I'll explain."

"No," Pesky said. "You get some- _prrrr_ -sleep, and I shall know- _prrrr_ \- everything." He said as Lucy then felt really drowsy and as you would expect, she fell asleep.

"Now to figure out- _prrr_ -what is going on- _prrrr_ -" Pesky Dust said as he then became a tiny orb of light and entered Lucy's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was originally going to show part of her memories in this chapter, but then I decided to wait because this might take one whole big thing, so next chapter. We shall be going in her mind and see her memories..man Ben is not going to like it one bit and he will discover some new things about her.
> 
> So...did I write Pesky Dust's dialogue, right? I know she purrs or chips, but I don't know how to write that..I hope that was the right way, and if it wasn't sorry aobut that.
> 
> Also please do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys, and always happy to answer any questions you might have.
> 
> See you all next time as we see out favorite Omnitrix wielder go into the mindscape of the Diclonius Queen: Lucy


	12. Memories of Torment Pt 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, back with a new chapter. So as you last saw, Ben had gone inside the mind of Lucy. and now he will have to see her memories of her past, what will he discover? Let's read and find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Lucy's Mind/Orphanage_

Pesky Dust saw that he was inside a building, and what appeared to be someone's room.

"What is his place?" He asked as he was looking around heard a voice.

"We have to do something to get that fever down." The voice said. Pesky Dust flew down a bit to see that it was an older woman looking after a girl when the woman left, he flew down to see who it was. To his shock and surprise, it was a younger Nyu, who was in bed and who's face was red.

 _"So cute,_ " Pesky Dust thought. " _But...why is she alone-prrrr-in this room?_ " Pesky Dust flew around to see that Nyu was, indeed, sleeping alone in this room. What happened? Did she get located someplace else? Speaking of...where were they at anyway?

"*sigh* is that gurl sick again?" A voice asked Pesky Dust flew to the door to see what he can hear.

"Yes...Christ, I wish that girl could give me a break...I had things to do tonight." Another voice said.

" _So what?_ " Pesky Dust thought angrily. " _She is sick, I'm sure your-prrrr-plans can wait, lady._ " The Nemunia thought in anger. This was a sick child, and these women are acting like it's a problem, not her fault if she is sick.

"Besides, that girl is so creepy and weird, she doesn't act like a normal child at all." Pesky Dust heard this and was shocked and horrified on how these ladies could say something bad about a little girl. "Did you see those horns of hers? They are disgusting." She said. Pesky Dust was also angered by this, what kind of woman could back-talk to a poor child like this? Especially a sick one. Furthermore, what women were they? Caretakers?

"You know...non of the other children want to share a room with her." One of the voices said. This got Pesky Dust's attention, now he knew that this was not her home..but what could it be, he looked over to see that Nyu had looked at the poor and was bowing in sadness, prompting the fairy-like alien to frown. All fo a sudden. the area around him turned black.

* * *

_Hillside_

"What's going- _prrrr_ -on?" He asked confusingly, after a few minutes, the area changed to that of a hillside, He saw Nyu walking alone in the night. Where was she going? Pesky Dust began to worry as he continued to follow her.

"Why.." She said. "Why do they all treat me like this? Only because I have these...things on my head..." She said sadly. Pesky Dust was also sad, no one should never be treated differently because of what they possess, whether horns or having one single eye. They were still people. As Nyu was still walking, she was holding her arms close to her, because it was chilly outside.

As Nyu was walking more she all of a sudden fell down on her stomach, causing Pesky Dust to get concerned about her, as the girl was lifting her head up., she spotted a puppy whining at her.

"Are you worried aobut me?" she asked. Prompting the pup to lick her face, causing her to smile a bit. "It's alright, I'm used to being alone as well." she said sadly. Pesky Dust watched and frowned as well. Why would anyone do that to her? Well..at least she had this adorable little pooch to help her. At this point, he noticed that the background was changing again

* * *

_Orphanage/Sitting Room_

Pesky Dust was now back at the orphanage, and in a sitting room of sort, he saw Nyu sitting at a table while staring at a book bag that was covered in the white stuff, and there were also three boys standing around her giving her a hard time

"So, what happened to your bag freak?" One boy asked her giving her a cocky smile. "Looks like someone poured sour milk on it...damn it smells foul." He snarked. Pesky Dust saw these boys and felt something...something...dark and malicious...but what was it? But he did notice that Nyu was not paying them any attention at all.

"Hey!" One boy said as he got annoyed. "He asked you a question freak!" He said as he then pushed her to the ground, and she went down with a thud.

"Nyu!" Pesky Dust thought with worry, he was looking at these bullies with disgust as they were laughing aobut it.

"you know, I heard that they found you in a field." He said with snarkiness. "I bet that's why your parents abandoned you, because of those disgusting horns coming out of your head." The main bully said. Nyu was aobut to get up, but one of the bullies grabbed an umbrella and used the handle to trip her, causing her to crash back on the floor again. This roused Pesky Dust's anger even more.

At this point, the bullies were now behind her doing an odd dance as they were laughing. "You must be some kind of monster...or demon, because you sure ain't human, not with those horns. Hell, even the teachers don't want anything to do with you because you're just so damn creepy." He said with snarkiness. Pesky Dust was getting further annoyed with their antics, that was then he noticed another gril coming into the room and gasping.

The girl turned tot eh hallway and called for a teacher. "Teacher! Tomoo is bullying again!" she called out. Pesky Dust sighed in relief.

" _So that kid's name is Tomoo huh?_ " Pesky Dust thought with interest, but he was just happy that the giri stopped the bullies, and was smirking when he saw them leaving he room.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves for bullying her!" she called back to them in anger. Pesky Dust smiled at her.

"I would have done the same..." He thought happily. The gril looked over and ran at Nyu, who was now getting up. She checked her over to make sure she was alright.

"Are you alright?" she asked with concern, she then noticed Nyu's milk-covered bag and frowned. "Your bags all ruined. I swear that Tomoo is such a jerk." She said with a frown.

"Everyone here...kid...adults...they're all unhappy. Nyu mumbled something that Pesky Dust heard and frowned upon. The gril looked over at Nyu, confused.

"What was that?" She asked, but NYu wasn't paying any attention.

"And if they are not happy, then that means that they are looking for someone who is worse than them." She said. PEsky Dust sadly frowned at that. It was true, sometimes bullies will do that to weaker kids just to make themselves feel better about something. As Nyu was grabbing her bag to leave teh other gril stopped her and grabebd a rag to wipe off the milk.

"Hopefully, once it dries off. The bag should be alright." the gril said with a smile. Nyu looked over at her and the girl gave her a smile. "you know..you don't have to be alone, not all the time. If you have any problem at all, you can tell me. I'll be there for you." She said. Nyu looked at teh girl and was bashful a bit for hearing that. The scene changed again, Pesky Dust was watching this and was pondering something.

"I am glad that that girl- _prrr_ -helped Nyu...but why do I get teh feeling that it's going to come back to bite Nyu on the behind?" He pondered...he just couldn't help it, but he had that feeling in his gut. He shrugged it off to see where they were now.

* * *

_Forest nearby the Orphanage_

Pesky Dust can see that it was nightfall again and that Nyu was now back outside and entering a forest area, prompting the fairy-like aline to get concerned.

"Where is she going at this time at night?" He wondered as he flew after her. After what appeared to be a few minutes, he finally saw that she was now kneeling down in front of the puppy from earlier, wagging his tail excitedly. Nyu also had a piece of bread in her hand.

"You really were hungry weren't you boy?" she asked as she offered teh bread to the puppy, who began to eat it. "You know..I'm glad to have found you, I don't know how much longer in this place." she said.

Pesky Dust was now ashamed. He wished that this place was in there universe...because if it did, then he would have asked Grandpa Max to see if he could take her away from here...this was not a good environment for Nyu. His thoughts were interrupted by Nyu, who looekd back to the puppy, who was licking her outstretched hand.

"I'm sorry...but I don't have anything else for you." She said sadly, prompting the puppy to whine a bit, and Pesky Dust to look on in sadness. As she was lost in thought, Nyu's stomach started to growl, causing her to hold her stomach while blushing a bit. "I guess half of my lunch is not really enough." she said with a sad chuckle.

"She only ate half?" Pesky though in shock. What was going on in that place? why were they treating a poor girl like this? As he was contemplating this, he saw her pointing to the orphanage.

" As much as I want to, I can't take you over there with me...even if you're hungry, if I do..they'll be mean to you as well." She sadly said to the puppy.

" _They better not._ " Pesky Dust thought in anger. What Nyu said next made Pesky Dust more heartbroken.

"If I was stronger...then I could protect you." she said to the puppy, and the memory ended. Pesky Dust was in sadness, Nyu was being treated like crap from these people, and she was afraid that they would do something to that poor dog if they saw it. He noticed that the scene had changed and that he was now in a dark place with Nyu sitting down and curled up.

"Again..." He heard her voice say. "I feel like..." She then looked down at her hands, and she then reached outwards with them while she was also tilting her head back and her eyes closed. Around her, Vectors came out for her back, making Pesky Dust shocked and surprised.

" _What the heck were those?_ " He thought in shock.

* * *

_Orphanage/Sitting Room_

the scene had changed back to the sitting room of the orphanage, but Pesky Dust was still shocked aobut what he saw. What are those things coming out from Nyu's back? He was hoping that he would get to know as time progressed, but now he was focusing on Nyu, who was sitting down with that girl who helped her before.

"What's wrong?" She asked Nyu, who was looking nervous.

"I...have a problem.." She said. Pesky Dust was worried that she was going to tell her aobut the dog, he was happy that the gril was being kind..but he couldn't help but feel like it was not going to end well.

* * *

_Forest_

Pesky Dust was surprised that they were now back in the forest so suddenly, and now he was looking down at seeing Nyu, the orphanage girl, and the puppy together.

"He's so adorable." the gril said with happiness as she was giving him some food. Nyu nodded alongside her but gave her a serious look.

"You have to keep this a secret and can't tell anyone aobut him." she said. The girl smiled back at her.

"Don't worry, you can trust me." She said with a smile, that Nyu returned as well. Pesky Dust was smiling at this act, but he now felt that worried feeling he had...about it coming back to bite Nyu in the butt. Why was he feeling like that? The gril promised that the girl would keep her mouth shit...so why was he feeling this feeling though..

* * *

_Orphanage/Sitting Room_

Pesky Dust still couldn't get that feeling out of his mind but ignored that as he was now watching Nyu, sitting down at a desk, reading a book while kicking her feet idly in the air. At this moment the door slid open and who came in?

"Hey, freak!" It was Tomoo and his stooges, not surprisingly. Nyu saw them, but she scowled at them. Tomoo put his hands on his hips and smirked at her.

"So, you think you're pretty smart huh? Well..for being a weird thing..you sure as hell ain't that smart." He said as he snapped hsi fingers and to both Nyu and Pesky Dust's horror, one of his cronies pulled out the puppy, who was being held by the scruff of his neck and was yelping. Nyu saw this and made a run for hi to get her dog back, but she was then tripped by one of Tomoo's cronies

"Where do you think you're going freak?" He asked snarkily as he grabbed her and the others laughed. She was struggling to get out.

"Let me go you bastards!" She said with a voice that was mixed of anger and fright. Tomoo looked viciously yat her.

"Oh? I've never seen you like this before." He said tauntingly, this was making Pesky Dust's blood boil. "You must really care aobut this mutt huh? After all, you hardly ever cry, jeez, you really are a creep!" He said as one of he bullies was lifting the dog up and down and laughing. Tomoo then leaned in close and smiled viciously at Nyu. "If you start crying and beg, maybe I might let this mutt go..if you don't I'll make sure it does the crying for you."

Pesky Dust was shocked, what kind of bullies would do this? Not even Cash or J.T. would do something like this, this was going way too far now. Nyu, however, glared at Tomoo.

"FUCK YOU!" She yelled as she then gave a hard kick right to his stomach, causing the bully to grunt in pain. He stared at Nyu angrily and backhanded her.

"Bad mistake bitch." He growled. Pesky Dust's anger was getting greater by the minute but he was also confused...where the hell was the teachers? Where were any of the adults in this place? if this is an orphanage or something like that, there should be people around to check up on this issue. Tomoo then turned to his cronies and said something. "Kick that stupid dog." He said angrily.

"Got it Tomoo." the bully said.

"DON'T!" Nyu said frantically, just then with a mighty kick, the puppy went flying to the wall and landed with a hard thud as it yelped in pain and fell to the floor. Pesky Dust was getting even angrier, not only do they mock her...but they attack a poor puppy? for what? Just to mess with her? Nyu saw what happened and was still struggling as the bully holding her was laughing cruelly.

Tomoo had a sadistic grin on his face. "This is way better than teasing her directly." He said. He then walked over to the table to grab a vase while still glaring evilly.

Pesky Dust's eyes went wide. " _No...he wouldn't..._ " He thought. No...this...this bully couldn't do that...he can't...His fears were confirmed as Tomoo had his cronie hold the dog down...and what happened next? I don't even want to describe it, but it made Pesky Dust's blood boil...boil even more than normal. These boys weren't just picking on her, no..they were KILLING a defenseless animal...for what reason? To get a rise out of her? WHAT THE HELL?

" _I know this is a memory...but if I was there...I would-prrrr-have stopped this._ " Pesky Dust thought as tears went down his eyes as his hands were balled up and shaking with fury. He was noticing Nyu as she was trembling with tears were coming up from the corner of her eyes. He wanted to do nothing more than just to go over there and beat those boys up to a pulp...but this was a memory...plus he was older than them...but still...why would they do such a thing? Like before...not even Cash and J.T. would do a thing like this.

At this point, the orphanage girl came in and saw what was going on. "STOP!" She said running over to them, and Tomoo and his cronies were looking at her with confusion.

"What are you talking aobut? You're the one who told us aobut the mutt in the first place." Tomoo said. Pesky Dust's eyes went wide and so did Nyu's, he had that feeling that this was going to happen, and he felt more angry, especially at the girl for betraying Nyu's trust like that. He then saw Nyu, looking over at the gril, who had her hands clasping over her mouth as her eyes started to shed some tears.

"I...Because...I didn't know..you were going to do this..." She said.

Pesky Dust was even more infuriated. "WHAT THE HELL DOY YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!" He shouted at her. "NYU TRUSTED YOU AND YOU BLAB ABOUT THE PUPPY!" Normally because this is a dream, they would interact with the fairy-like alien, but to Pesky Dust's confusion...they couldn't hear him at all. He then saw Nyu lower her head in defeat, causing him to look on in sadness.

"Awe man," One of the bullies said with disappointment. "The stupid mutt stopped moving."

"Darn...that was too quick" Tomoo said with dejection.

"Why you little bastards..." Pesky Dust growled in fury, but he then stopped as he heard Nyu's voice, it was teh same as what she told the other gril before, he took a glance at the orphanage girl to see that she had a small smile on her face...was she...HAPPY that they killed the dog? Pesky Dust was fuming even more but stopped as he heard NYu's voice again.

"Human..." She started. "You want to know who is not human?... BASTARDS LIKE YOU!" She roared as then all of a sudden, the bully behind her exploded as lots of blood came out. Tomoo gasped as then he, the other bully, and finally, the orphanage girl all exploded...and just like that...the entire room was coated in blood...and the memory vanished.

Pesky Dust saw that had his eyes went wide, never...in all of his life...had he seen something like THAT...ever happen before, He then gagged, trying really hard not to puke. But found it really hard, what with seeing all the blood...guts...everything.

" _Wh-what the hell?!_ " He thought with shock...how did Nyu do that? Surely those bullies couldn't have spontaneously combusted...divine intervention? Maybe...but how did that happen? He really was now trying to breathe deeply in order to calm his nerves...oh how he wished for a smoothie and some fries to calm himself down. The scene finally changed.

* * *

_Hillside_

Pesky Dust couldn't get the image out of his head though and he was still trembling in fright over what the just saw. Not only did he see a poor animal get kileld by some sadistic bullies, but he saw them EXPLODE! Right in front of him, and the blood was all over the room...he just couldn't get that out of his head, he was breathing really hard and trying to stay totally calm aobut what happened...but there was one thing he wanted to know. How it happened...but now he had to get back to seeing Nyu

The Nemunia saw Nyu, who was now kneeling down at what looked like a small grave, he assumed that this must be where she buried that puppy. She looked on at it with sadness.

"It was my fault," She said. "If I was stronger...than you wouldn't have died." Pesky Dust now had tears coming out of the corners of his eyes and looked down, he felt so helpless...he couldn't stop those bullies because it was all a dream..and that puppy died...he felt so helpless, he wish ed he could be there and give the younger NYyu a big hug. "But why? Why am I treated differently? Just because of how I look...it isn't fair..."

Pesky Dust felt even sadder, this girl lost her puppy, and was betrayed by a gril she thought was her friend...he wished he could be there right now. Then there was a thud noise and Nyu and Pesky Dust both turned to see a young boy who looked aobut her age was looking at her surprisingly, he was also carrying a music box that was playing a tune..that was familiar to Pesky Dust's ears.

" _Is that...Kouta?_ " Pesky Dust thought with curiosity

( _Eyecatch of Young Lucy and Ten-year-old Ben drinking smoothies together and smiling_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Ben with his left hand on his face and trembling in sadness_ )

_Hillside_

Pesky Dust was watching this exchange with curiosity, but who was the young boy? Ben assumes it might be Kouta, due to that boy and the present Kouta having the same eye color, hair, hair color, you name it. He was quite surprised, he didn't know that Kouta knew Nyu from long ago...so why did he act like he just met her for the first time when they met that day? Well, he would ask that later, because as he was looking at the exchange, he was also nervous, from watching the two kids exchange, this could go either way. Kouta could somehow die just like those other kids, or NYyu might run away.

"Do..you like it?" The Young Kouta asked her with curiosity.

"Wh-what?" Nyu asked, flushing a bit.

"Well, why else would you be staring at it?" He asked as he then closed teh music box. Nyu turned back around.

"I jsut...thoug tit was a pretty song, that's all." She simply said, not facing him.

" _She has a point,_ " Pesky Dust thought. " _It is a very-prrrr-lovely piece of music_." He then saw that Kouta was looking over at Nyu's horns, causing the girl to get annoyed. "Not good." He thought in worry.

"Hey..are those..horns growing out of your head?" He asked with curiosity.

"Really dude?" Pesky Dust thought. I mean they just meet and he asks about her horns? Well anyway, this was possibly not going to end well for him. Nyu now grabbed teh horns and glared at Kouta.

"Thye are...and I bet you find them disgusting don't you?" She asked as she then looekd away with that angry look on her face. " _I'm so sick of this...all fo it!_ " She thought as then, to Pesky Dust's surprise, he saw some arms out fo the ground and rush towards Kouta.

"Nyu, NO!" Pesky Dust tried calling out to her, but to no avail. But then, something unexpected happened, Kouta walked right up to Nyu and looked at her with a smile.

"Wow, that's so cool!" He said. "Totally awesome!" Both Pesky Dust and Nyu were both stunned, well NYu the most. Because he was teh first one to think that her horns were not disgusting or weird, but he found them cool. Pesky Dust was smiling a bit, he knew that Kouta didn't have a problem with them when they first found Nyu, so he wouldn't have been so judgemental back then either. The vectors around Nyu began to creep away. "I'm actually a bit jealous." Kouta said.

Nyu was blushing a bit when he was saying these compliments but then frowned as she then shoved his hands off of her. "Jealous?" She asked a little bit defensively. "You have no idea how much trouble I have been because of these horns." Pesky Dust frowned a bit, he didn't blame her, they caused her to get bullied, and it got her puppy killed. He wasn't blaming the horns for Nyu for it though, it wasn't her fault that she was born with them.

"Well, I don't really know what you mean," Kouta said. "I mean it's just so cool because I never saw a thing like that before, I mean it, they look great." Nyu, however, wasn't buying any of it though.

"You aren't funny...so leave me alone." she bitterly said as she walked away, something Pesky Dust frowned at and sighed a bit to. but Kouta wasn't that discouraged.

"Hey, I was wondering...do you want to be friends?" His question made Nyu stop for a moment. "I'm staying with my relatives for a while, so I won't be here for much long..but we should hang out and play together while we are still here, so what do you say?"

Pesky Dust was smiling at what Kouta was saying, he didn't care aobut the horns or anything, plus he even offered to hang out with her while he was here...speaking of, he mentioned aobut relatives, maybe PEsky Dust would be able to see a young Yuka was well, that would be good to see. But then he heard something that made him worried.

" _If you have any problem at all, you can tell me. I'll be there for you._ " the voice of that girl back at the orphanage was heard in Nyu's mind, and Pesky Dust heard it too. This was not good, because he could now see Nyu trembling again with an angry look.

"You have to be kidding me..." Nyu said. Prompting Kouta to look confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Nyu looekd over at him.

"It's because..I hate all of you." she said angrily as she continued to walk away. Pesky Dust frowned again, of course, he was kind of expecting Nyu to say something like that. After what those bullies did...of course, she would say something like that.

"You hate..all fo us?" He wondered, as he then looekd back to Nyu, who was still walking. "Well, my name's Kouta! I'll be waiting for you here, same time tomorrow. So please don't forget to come, I'll be here." He said, and the memory ended.

"That was really nice of Kouta," Pesky Dust said with a smile. "He was offering to come see her again, and he- _prrrr_ -promised...let's hope he keeps it though." He said as the memory began to change again.

* * *

_House_

Pesky Dust looekd around to see that they were now in some kind of bathroom, prompting his confusion even more. Whose house was this? Did Nyu come here for something? At this point, he saw that Nyu was taking a shower and he quickly turned away. She was still a kid at this point, so it would be very wrong of him to see her naked. So he decided to fly out of there to another part of the house.

He then saw a TV nearby and flew over to it to hear what it was saying.

" _There are still no reports on the case of the dead children found in the orphanage today. A manhunt for a missing girl from there is still continuing._ " As the reporter was continuing. Pesky Dust was getting concerned, but...it just didn't make sense..if Nyu really did kill those kids...then how did she do it? At that point, the TV turned off and Pesky Dust saw Nyu standing in the open, luckily the towel was covering her body so he wouldn't have to turn away. She then sighed and went over to the fridge and opened up...and what Pesky Dust saw on the floor nearby? Shocked him.

It was a family of three, seemed like adults. and their bodies were mutilated as some organs were scattered and blood was oozing on the floor. Pesky Dust was shocked and horrified at seeing this, but he slowly turned towards Nyu with fright and worry.

"Nyu...did...you do this?" He asked as tears started to appear from the corners of his eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...so Ben finally got a glimpse of what happened to Lucy, and he was not happy at all aobut how she was treated...but he was glad that he finally got to see Kouta..but now he saw Lucy's second kill...and lets just say one thing, next chapter, he is going to be introduced to the DNA Voice...and it will not be a good interaction, let me tell you what.
> 
> Some of you might be asking how they can't hear Pesky Dust's voice, well that'll be explained next chapter.
> 
> Man...I had to rewatch this episode a bit and it still makes my blood boil from wht those bullies did to the poor puppy...just to get a rise out of a poor girl, what sickos, let me tell you.
> 
> Do you honestly think that the orphanage girl was smiling aobut the puppy dying? I hear lots of theories that her little smile is part of Lucy's mind, but I don't know..let me know what YOU think?
> 
> Alos folks, after the next chapter I will be doing a chapter that I will be explaining on my own personal theory on the voice and Diclonius nature itself.
> 
> "Don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys, and always happy to answer any questions you might have.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	13. Memories of Torment Pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I am back with a new chapter. So last time, Ben, as Pesky Dust, went inside Lucy's mind and got a glimpse over her tragic past, the puppy..and the girl...his blood was boiling, but he also saw a younger Kouta...and he saw Lucy's second kill of teh at family...and once he sees more he will be horrified. Can our hero keep his cool? Or will a vicious presence in the tormented girl's mind cause him to lose it? Let's find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Hillside_

Pesky Dust could see that now they were back at the hillside, but he still couldn't get that image of the family out of his mind, did Nyu do that? No...she couldn't have...she just couldn't have...could she? As he was thinking aobut this, he saw Nyu sitting down by the grave again at the hill and thinking back to what Kouta said about coming back the next day. So Pesky Dust assumed int was teh next day..and it looked like it was going to rain a bit.

Nyu looked aorund and gasped a bit when she saw a nearby squirrel. who then lept off the rock and too off. She blushed a bit, but after waiting or a while she became a bit angry.

"You promised..." Nyu said with anger in her voice. You said that you would be here in this spot today..but you aren't." Pesky Dust frowned a bit at Kouta for seemingly breaking his promise to he,r but as she was about to leave she noticed some nearby police officers walking up the pathway, she quickly hid behind the tree so that way, she would be out of their sight.

Pesky Dust stayed right where he was since they couldn't hear him or see him. "So, this time it was the entire family?" One of the guards asked.

"Yep, it was the same as the orphanage as well, this guy is really bloodthirsty." the other officer said. "The entire police department is in a real panic because of this. However, this doesn't leave us much time to search for a lost girl."

"I know," the officer said, he looked up into the sky to see some rain falling down. "the rain is getting worse, let's head back."

"Alright." The other officer said as the two started to walk away. All this time Nyu had her vectors draw out preparing to kill them if they caught her, but since they didn't the vectors went away. Pesky Dust saw these arms and was wondering something. Just what were those arms? He saw them when he was Ghostfreak back in the graveyard...but what kind of hands were these?

Nyu then sighed as she sat down in front of her puppy's grave and held her knees close to her chest. As she was staring on, Pesky Dust saw an image of Kouta flashing as Nyu then closed her eyes. "I knew it...I knew he wasn't going to come...but where am I supposed to go now?" She asked as she put her knees in her chest tighter.

Pesky Dust frowned at this, he was ticked that Kouta seemed to have broken hsi promise. This was surprising to the Nemuina, because Kouta seemed like he was going to keep his promise, especially after knowing him for many weeks. Kouta seemed like the kind of guy to care and keep his word. As Pesky Dust was sighing, he then heard a familiar voice talk.

Here you go." Kouta's voice said as he then put a hat on Nyu's head, causing the girl to look up in shock. "If the horns are giving you trouble..then this hate should help hide them from others." He said to her with a smile. PEsky Dust smiled at Kouta for not only keeping his word but for also giving Nyu a hat to cover up the horns. Butt hen he and Nyu both noticed that Kouta had a small cut on his kneecap.

"Wh-what happened?" Nyu asked him, he looekd to see where she was looking at and brushed it off.

"I got hurt as I was trying to sneak out of the house." He said. Nyu and Pesky Dust were both curious as to what he meant by that when Nyu asked him again. He told her that she had to sneak out of the house to see her, his dad wouldn't let him go outside due to the murderers going on. Nyu looked shocked and worried and turned away, her eyes trembling and having a look that said worried and regret.

The memory changed to see that now the two kids were now in a small little cave, possibly to get away from the rain.

" _Should have bought a jacket or something..._ " Pesky Dust thought.

"Dang, this rain really is coming down hard." Kouta said as he and Nyu were sitting together. Nyu didn't say anything, prompting an awkward silence from the two. "So..what were you din gout here yesterday?" He asked her.

"Oh, nothing really." Nyu said to him, she didn't want to talk about what happened to her puppy...nor did she want to talk about what happened at the orphanage, something that Pesky Dust really didn't blame her for anyway. "So," Nyu began. "Why did you...well...want to be friends with me?" As she was asking this, Pesky Dust noticed that she was blushing a bit, something that made him jealous a bit.

"Wait, why am I- _prrrr_ -jealous?" Pesky Dust asked. "This is a childhood memory, I shouldn't be acting like that." He said as he then quickly brushed the feelings off and looked back to them, he saw Kouta getting out a sketchbook and opened a page to show Nyu, Pesky Dust flew over to see it as well.

"Well, I like to sketch, so I came up here yesterday to draw a picture of the mountain yesterday, usually it's empty..but I find you there, sitting by that tree." He said Nyu's eyes were trembling as she was staring at the boy. "You looekd..so sad and lonely."

Nyu turned away a bit and frowned. "I don't want your sympathy." She told him, but he didn't hear her as he reached into his bag again.

"Also, because of this." He then brought out the music box and opened it, prompting it to play that song again. Nyu and Pesky Dust were both captivated by that melody, so captivated that the Nemuian was getting drowsy a bit, ironic considering the fact that he was in a dream. "I've always liked this song, the first time I heard it..there was just something aobut it that made me like it, and I was happy that you liked it as well."

"Well...yea," Nyu said as she was blushing again. "It's...a really pretty song." She said. Pesky Dust smiled at seeing them get along just nicely, he wished that she met Kouta earlier...maybe, if they met sooner...then that dog wouldn't have gotten killed...

Kouta then saw her shivering a bit and he scootched over closer to her, causing her to blush even more. "Wh-what are you doing?" she asked in a worried and surprised voice.

"Well, a good way to stay warm is to huddle up." Kouta said with a smile.

"J _ust like sardines._ " Pesky Dust thought with a smile and a small giggle.

"Besides, you don't want to catch a cold and get sick now, would you?" Kouta asked in a playful manner, causing Nyu to turn away with that blush still on her face.

Later on, the rain stopped and Pesky Dust saw the two face eachother.

"So you want to play again sometime?" Kouta asked her, prompting the gril to nod her head.

"Thanks...for the hat." Nyu said with a blush still on her face. Kouta smiled and nodded.

"No problem, I'll see you soon!" He said with a smile as he left. Nyu saw him leave and she smiled after him. So nice, and sweet...but what was that..feeling? That feeling in her chest? Just as she was wondering that, two police officers approached her from behind.

"Hey kid," The officer said to her. "Didn't your teacher tell you aobut the curfew?" He asked her, Nyu played along and shook her head no. "Well it's not dangerous to be out on the streets at night, so get on home." He told her.

"R-right, thank you sir." she said as she started running, with Pesky Dust following her. After a few minutes, she stopped to breathe a bit.

"Crap...where am I going to stay?" she asked. As she looekd aorund she heard noice from a nearby house, it sounded like some kids and a mother talking to eachother, as she then narrowed her eyes at the house.

"Nyu..no..." Pesky Dust said with worry. The memory change again to find them both inside teh house. Pesky Dut was really worried and flew aorund to see if anyone was here. When he went ins a nearby room, he was immediately shocked. He saw the mother and two kids dead...their limbs scattered and blood all over the ground. He looekd over at Nyu with a hurt expression.

"Nyu...why? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS!" He yelled as tears came down his eyes. The memory changed once again to see that they were now back at the hillside.

But Pesky Dut just still couldn't get all; the murderers out of his head why was Nyu doing this? Was this because of the bullying? There has to be a reason...there has to be...his thoughts were interrupted by Kouta's presence again.

" _Be safe Kouta._ " Pesky Dust thought in worry.

"Have you been waiting?" Kouta asked Nyu, prompting her to blush a bit and turn away.

"No..I wasn't..." He said while blushing. Pesky Dust gave a small sad smile at seeing this. Kouta came up to her to tell her that he was hoping to run into her.

"You see, I was hoping that I would get to see you in order to say good-bye." Nyu trembled a bit as she gripped her skirt tightly. "Today's our last day here, so I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out together all day?" He asked.

"S-sure...I would like that." She said. Next thing Pesky Dust knew, they were now on a train.

* * *

_Train_

"So you never been to the zoo before?" Kouta asked shocked. Nyu solemnly nodded her head a she looked ahead of him.

"Is it if fun to stare at the stupid animals?" she asked with a hint of venom in her voice, Pesky Dust frowned a bit and Kouta was acting like he didn't hear her tone.

"Yea, I mean my favorites are the animals that you can't see anywhere else than here. My favorites are really weird and strange-looking ones." He said. Pesky Dust then heard Tomoo's voice explaining aobut Nyu not being human, something that made the Nemuian grip his tiny fists, as Nyu looked on.

"I'm not interested..in seeing stupid animals." she whispered with venom.

Pesky Duat frowned as well at hearing that, but what about her dog? didn't she like that? Well...after everything that has happened...I guess it made sense for her not wanting to see any animals. Pesky Dust was still worried and concerned aobut Nyu's mental state, aobut the murders...everything... Finally, the memory changed again.

* * *

_Zoo_

Wow!" Nyu said in awe as she was staring at an elephant with awe and wonder. "I've never seen anything this big before! How did he get to be so big?!" She asked with wonder and curiosity. Pesky Dust looked on and smiled at her, this was definitely more of the Nyu he knows and likes...like...Pesky Dust was thinking back to he murders and he was conflicted...he still liked her...but then she did those murders...can...he like a killer? As he was thinking about this, he saw Kouta and Nyu walk off and began to follow them once more.

"Don't think I'm happy or something," Nyu said, embarrassed at how she acted a few minutes ago. "He just surprised me, that 's all." Pesky Dust giggled a bit on how cute she was acting, and as soon as they made it to a giraffe, she then got even more excited.

"Wow!" she said running towards the cage. "Look at the size of that neck! It's so long! How did he get a long neck like that?!" As she was going on aobut the giraffe, Pesky Dust was giggling, but also looked over at Kouta, who had a confused look on his face.

"Wow...I never saw anyone so excited over a giraffe or elephant before," He said with confusion. "I wonder...has she been living under a rock or something?"

"Kouta...it's possibly best you not know..for he sake- _prrrr_ -of your own sanity." Pesky Dust said to the boy. While he knew the boy wouldn't hear him...but Pesky Dust was wondering..should he tell them aobut Nyu's past when he gets back? He didn't know, but then again, they possibly wouldn't believe him...although...well he would wonder about it later, but right now he got back to the memory, where he saw teh two kids over at a bend with snow cones in hand.

"My dad gave me some extra money, so whatever you want today, it's all on me." Kouta said with a smile as he began to eat his.

" _Snow cones...pretty tasty,_ " Pesky Dust thought. " _But still though-prrrr-I prefer some yummy chili fries._ " He thought as he was licking hsi lips. Nyu took a small spoonful of the icy treat and put it in her mouth, her eyes went wide-eyed as she licked her lips.

"It's so yummy." she said with a smile. She looked at Kouta, who was smiling at her and then turned back to her frozen treat with a blush on her face. "But it's kinda cold though.." She said.

"Well of course, it's made of ice, why wouldn't it be?" Kout asked playfully. After they were done eating they threw their empty cups in the trash, and Kouta grabebd Nyu's hand again.

"Hey, why don't we look around some more?" He asked. This prompted Nyu to blush once again.

"S-sure." she stuttered. Pesky Dust couldn' help but give a giggle at seeing Nyu act like this, it was pretty cute. If he was still young, he would have gagged, but he matured alot since then. He was now following them all aorund as tey two were walking. After a few minutes, Nyu stopped for a moment and looked down at the ground.

"What time?" She asked, a bit hesitant. "Tomorrow I mean...what time do you leave?"

"Oh, well I do know we are laving aorund night time. But before that, I'm going to a festival with my cousin." He explained to her.

" _Cousin?_ " Pesky Dust thought. " _So I'll be able to see Yuka-prrrr-when she was younger than_ " He saw that Nyu looekd a bit sad and frowned. " _I wish I met her when I was younger..than maybe..the violence-prrrr and death..never would have happened..._ "

He then saw Nyu sitting on a bench and Kouta looking up at aborad. Pesky Dust couldn't make out the words due to them being in Japanese, but the animal pictures helped him out a bit.

"So..where should we go now?" Kouta asked. "I swear, this place is huge it's hard to pick." He said with awe. Pesky Dust had to agree, it was pretty large. At this point, he heard some people talking and flew over tot hem.

"So did you hear? Apparently there was another murder." A man said to a girl, causing Pesky Dust to narrow his eyes.

"This is the third one right?" She asked, prompting the man to nod his head. "I hope they do something soon, I'm getting scared."

"How do you think I feel? I mean why aren't the police doing something aobut it?" He asked.

" _Whatever those arms are,_ " Pesky Dust thought. " _Seems like the police-prrrr-can't get any prints from he corpses...just what-prrrr-are those hands?_ " He looekd back to NYu as he heard her thought.

"Damn...if I need a place to stay again, it looks like I have to kill again." She said. Pesky Dust's eyes went wide.

"Nyu, you can't!" He said loudly. "Please don't do this...I'm begging you!" Pesky Dust said to her, but unfortunately, he knew he couldn't speak to her since this was a dream. But then to his surprise, her head went up and she went wide-eyed.

" _Kill again?_ " She thought with worry. " _Why...why am I feeling like this? Why do I think about killing people all of the time?_ " Pesky Dust heard her and his eyes widened again with curiosity.

" _She...doesn't like it?_ " He thought. " _Then why-prrrr-is she thinking aobut doing it then?_ " He thought.

" _It's because you like killing people, isn't it?_ " A sinister voice said, Pesky Dust heard it and his eyes went narrow.

" _What was that?_ " He thought. All of a sudden the scene changed and now he and Nyu were in this weird void.

"I-I don't." She said in a frightened voice. At this point, a figure dressed in bandages started to walk up behind her, and it appeared that she too possessed teh same horns as Nyu. Pesky Dust was shocked at seeing this and confused as well.

"Wh-who is that?" He asked. "And what does she mean?"

" _Don't you see child?_ " the voice said. " _If you don't kill humans, then they will kill you..it'll only be a matter of time._ "

"B-but, it's not right...I can't keep killing innocent people for doing nothing wrong!" she said.

" _So, she doesn't want to do it then._ " Pesky Dust thought, he then narrowed his eyes at the bandaged girl. " _Could she-prrrr-be manipulating Nyu? And taking advantage of her_?"

The voice, however, wouldn't stop. "Y _ou should know by now child, that it's my destiny to kill every human being on this planet._ "

"SHUT UP!" Nyu screamed as she was covering her ears.

"What?" At that moment the scene changed to back at the zoo, with Kouta looking over at Nyu with concern

"Oh...nothing.." Nyu said with a blush on her face. "I..just feel really hot, it's making me tired."

"Well, Kouta said as he grabbed her hand. "I know a place where we can cool off." He said with a smile and he started to walk to the direction with Nyu following.

As Pesky Dust was following them, he couldn't get his mid-off of what he just saw in that void. Who was that? And why was it spouting off this nonsense aobut killing? Pesky then narrowed his eyes because this..whoever it was, was most likely causing Nyu to kill all of those people...he wanted to get to the bottom of this..and Nana was the only Diclonius besides Nyu who might know about this.

* * *

_Stream_

But now he had to get back to the memory. He looked on and saw that Nyu and Kouta were now relaxing at a nearby stream. Nyu was happy as her feet were feeling the cool wetness from the water.

"It feels nice in here." She said with a smile.

"I know," Kouta said as he then smirked. Hey, I need to show you something." When Nyu turned aorund he splashed some water in her face. "Sorry, your face was dirty." He said as he then laughed about it. Pesky Dust went wide-eyed and Nyu looked on for a moment as she looked on, but also got a smirk herself. Something that Pesky Dust noticed.

Nyu then pushed Kouta into he water, getting him all wet, he shook his hair to get teh water off and looked up to see Nyu, with a triumphant smile on her face. "Looks like you're the one who was dirty." She said.

"Nice one Nyu." Pesky Dust said with a smile. Kouta frowned and pulled her leg, causing her to fall int he water as well.

"That was payback!" He said to her.

"You're the one who started it!" She said as she kicked some water at him. Then the two backed away from each other and started to throw water at each other. Pesky Dust was watching and smiled at this, this was a good thing to watch, just kids acting like kids...still...he wanted to figure out aobut that mysterious figure in Nyu's mind. After a few minutes, the kids started to undress, prompting Pesky Dust to fly behind a rock, not wanting to be in their way.

"I can hear them good as I'm- _prrrr_ -nearby, hopefully, the scene will change- _prrrr_ -soon." Pesky Dust said. He then heard their voices.

"So...today's the day we say goodbye to eachother right?" Nyu's voice said, prompting Pesky Dust to frown a bit.

"Yea..." Kouta said dejectedly, he liked spending time with his new friends...but unfortunatly ut had to end.

"Kouta...today...was the best day of my life, nothing...comes even close to today."

"you're exaggerating," Kout said to her. Pesky Dust frowned a bit at what the heard, of course, he couldn't blame Kouta for not understanding, but he was ticked that Kouta sounded like it wasn't a big deal, but like before, it wasn't his fault, since he was unaware of Nyu's situation.

At that moment, the scene changed again and they ere al back on the train

* * *

_Train_

When Pesky Dust saw out the window, the sun as already starting to go down. Guess they spent most of their time at teh zoo. He then looekd back to the to kids, ho were now sitting down in one of the carts.

"Hey Kouta," Nyu said. "About that festival...would it...be alright if I came with you?" She asked him. Kouta looekd at her and looked away, guilt going on hid face.

"I'm sorry...I already made a promise that I'de go with my cousin." He said. Pesky Dust, however, was confused. Couldn't he just take Nyu with him? I mean couldn't he ask his dad or however was taking him? Like can't he ask them if another gril can come?

Nyu put her head down and trembled a bit. "Oh..I see, I guess that's how things go I guess."

"I'm sorry!" Kouta said, worried that he made her upset. "IF "I didn't make that promise.." Pesky Dust was still in thought, why couldn't he take NYu with him? He was sure that Yuka possibly wouldn't mind...however she did give off the jealous vibe whenever he and Nyu were together...but his thoughts were interrupted hen that voice was speaking again.

" _Seems like Kout ais bringing someone else tot eh festival...it might even be a girl._ " The voice said sinisterly. Pesky Dust was getting really tired of the voice and would have called out to it, but he knew that it was a dream so it wouldn't matter. the scene was changing and they were now back in that void

"Stop fooling aorund!" Nyu said at the voice as it was coming up right behind her.

" _It would be a shame if he broke your heart wouldn't it? I think..it's only fair if you kill him right here and now._ " It said. Pesky Dust then narrowed his eyes at the wrapped figure and was balling his tiny hands in anger.

"Don't do it Nyu!" Pesky told her, dream or not, he would not allow this...whatever tit as, to corrupt his friend like this.

"What are you saying?" Nyu asked in a shocked voice. "That isn't fair at all!" She said. The figure however kept on pressuring.

" _Aren't you listening? If you kill him right here and now, then he won't be able to break your heart._ " the figure said to her. Pesky Dust as really getting angry, this...thing was trying to corrupt her, and the pressuring was making it orse.

"SHUT UP!" Nyu suddenly shouted, spooking Pesky Dust. "JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

" _Oh...as if you didn't know._ " The figure said sinisterly. The scene changed again back to the train. When Pesky Dust saw Nyu, he was both shocked and appalled, why? Because she was strangling Kouta in the chair.

"NYU! DON'T!" Pesky Dust shouted.

"C-can't...breath..." Kouta said in a strained voice.

"Nyu, don't do this, please...I'm-prrrr-begging you!" Pesky Dust said to her while begging. As if she heard him, she immediately snapped back to her senses, saw what she was doing and quickly let go and was horrified at what she had done.

"I-I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Nyu asked with concern and regret. Pesky Dust sighed in relief but became concerned aobut the whole situation.

"Yea," Kouta said as he got up and rubbed his neck. "But you scared me a bit, hat's with you all of a sudden?" He asked. Nyu then turned away and put her hands to her eyes. "Hey." Kouta said with concern.

"Kouta...can you do...something for me?" She asked as she was trembling a bit. Kouta and PEsky Dust both looked confused, but for the Nemuian, it was more concerning than confused. "If I keep killing people...if I can't figure out a way to stop it...I need you to kill me."

Pesky Dust's eyes went wide with shock and horror. She...wants to die? If she can't stop the murders? No...she can't wish that...she just can't...Pesky Dust was now trembling as well, with worry and fear...afraid that she might actually do it...but it kinda got retracted as PEsky Dust remembered teh fight in the graveyard..so what made her change her mind? The scene changed again

( _Eyecatch of Ben with his head down and seeing both Nyu and Lucy in his mind_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of the DNA Voice smirking at the sad younger Lucy_ )

_Stone Steps_

Pesky Dust saw that the scene changed to the Stone Steps, the ones where he went with Kouta and Yuka that day when they stupidly handed Nyu off to Professor Kakuzawa. He saw that it was getting dark outside and Nyu and Kouta were standing with eachother.

"This is a lovely view." Kouta said. The ocean is the most viewing sight from up here." Pesky Dust had to agree with him on that.

"Hey Kouta," Nyu began to say. "Thanks for today...it was teh best day of my life." she said. Kouta turned to er and smiled.

"Eh, it's no biggie, I also had a great time today." Nyu turned to face him and smiled. She then looked back out and started to sing that song. Kouta looked surprised but then smiled and began to sing with her.

"It's such a lovely song." Pesky Dust said. He looked to see Kouta and Nyu and smiled at them, he really liked that smile Nyu gave him, it was a really sweet smile something he was familiar with. He was still concerned aobut that weird figure in her mind...he was going to get to the bottom of it, but how...? After a few minutes. He was now looking at the two kids and they faced eachother.

"Well, this is it." Kouta said with a dejected voice.

"Yea...I guess it is." Nyu said with sadness.

Hey, don't be sad." Kouta said, with a smile. "We're coming back next year though, so I'll be able to see you again." He said trying to change teh mood."

" _But it won't be too fas though._ " Pesky Dust thought with some dejection, he was worried too, because it seemed like Nyu was going to go back and kill more innocent people.

"Yea..." Nyu said with some dejection, to which Kouta frowned a bit at. "Hey, Kouta."

"Yes?"

"That cousin...the one you're bringing to the festival tomorrow...is it a boy? Or a girl?" She asked while blushing and her eyes trembling

Pesky Dust could see the nervousness on Kouta's face. While he was worried aobut what Nyu's reaction might be, but he was even more nervous than Kouta might lie to her, and if he lied...it would not end well...at all.

"Kouta, do the right thing." Pesky Dust said to him sternly. Kouta hesitated for a while before making choosing his words.

"My cousins a boy." He said to her. This got different reactions. A happy smile form Nyu...but a disappointed frown from Pesky Dust.

" _Kouta...you idiot._ " Pesky Dust thought in disappointment. He didn't want to say that because he as a kid, but he lied to Nyu aobut his cousin's gender. He should have outright told her the truth, sure it might have been awkward and she might have gotten angry but he could have calmed her down to explain. His thoughts were interrupted again by NYu, who was smiling at Kouta.

"that's great," She said with a smile. Pesky Dust however still frowned at seeing this. "So then...tomorrow night, I'll come to see you off at the station." she said.

"Wait, what?" Kouta asked but he didn't get to finish because Nyu started to walk away. Leaving him confused.

Pesky Dust, however, shook his head with annoyance. Why did Kouta have to lie? All Pesky Dust could think was that this was not going to end well...hopefully, Yuka will be going by the time Nyu comes to the station. The scene now changed again.

* * *

_Festival_

Pesky Dust was now at the festival, as he looked around he was intrigued by the setup and everything going on.

" _Well...this is the festival...but I thought Nyu-prrrr-was not going to come here._ " The Nemuian said as he flew around, at that moment he saw NYu, waling amongst teh crowd and looking around, possibly to find Kouta.

"I got a bad feeling that- _prrrr_ -this is not going to end well." Pesky Dust said with worry as he flew right to her.

"I'm going to do it." Pesky Dust heard Nyu's thought. "I'm going to be honest..and tell him how I really feel aobut him." She thought with determination. Pesky Dust felt a littel bit jealous about it, but he shook those feelings off because he was now worried, if Nyu saw Kouta with Yuka, it was not going to end really well.

"No!" A child's voice said. Pesky Dust turned aorund to see Kouta hugging a small girl, Pesky Dust flew closer to see that it was Yuka, now a child and wearing a kimono.

" _Yuka?_ " Pesky Dust thought. " _Huh, she looks pretty cute as a child._ " He said with a smile. But ti then turned to worry as he saw Kouta hugging her.

"Stop crying would you?" Kouta asked.

"But we won't be able to see eachother till next summer." She said as tears were going down her face and her hands covering her eyes. Pesky Dust looked rather perplexed, seemed like she was crying aobut not being able to see Kouta again till next summer. A total contrast to how his relationship with Gwen was, back then, they couldn't even stand each other. But they still cared aobut eachother because they were family.

"Hey, it's ok." Kouta said patting her head. Pesky Dust smiled a bit but frowned due to his lie. On top of all that, why couldn't he have asked his dad or whoever if he can bring Nyu as well? It just didn't make any sense, he then turned back to see Nyu. Who was now trembling and shaking a bit.

"But why?" she asked in a sad voice as her voice trembled, at that moment, some large guy bumped into her and knocked her down.

"Hey, you littel brat!" The man said. "Outta my way!"

"You get out of the way, asshole!" Pesky Dust said to the man in anger. He wished he could go Rath and pound this guys face in, but that wouldn't do any better. He sighed and flew down to Nyu to make sure she was alright, he then got worried when he saw her trembling.

"I see...Kouta already had someone...someone to love." She said ith a trembling voice.

"That's not true!" Pesky Dust told her. "He probably didn't want to- _prrrr_ -upset you or soemthing." The Nemuian tried to tell her, at this point the scene was changing again to that void. "Oh no, this can't be- _prrrr_ -good."

"That's right." Both Nyu and Pesky Dust looekd up to see Kouta staring down at her with a smile on his face. "There's no way I can like a girl with horns on her head."

Pesky Dust waa narrowing his eyes, he knew that this was not real...whatever that figure was..it must be manipulating Nyu's sadness, dammit, how can he stop it?

"But..why did you..." Nyu began to ask. Kouta's smirk grew even more.

"Wy do you think? I told you at the zoo...I like looking at the weird-looking animals." He said with a vicious smile. Ntyu then looekd down ad her entire body was trembling.

"Nyu, don't fall for it!" Pesky Dust said to her. All of a sudden the both noticed blood drops ont he floor and looekd up to see the headless body of Tomoo, with blood going donw his shirt.

" _Hey, freak._ " He said as he leered over her, causing her to try to back up. " _You're not human you freak. Only humans can exist in this world._ " As he was saying this, Nyu was covering her head and whimpering. Pesky Dust was worried and concerned, he wanted to do nothing more but fly right over there and give Nyu a big hug, but he knew that it would be ineffective. At that moment he heard a thud and turned to see what landed.

IT was the puppy; Nyu's puppy. The dog was now lifeless and in a pool of its blood. Pesky Dust as now trembling himself as he tried really hard not to throw up and was balling hsi fists really tightly...all of this..was making him really mad. Nyu saw the puppy and tears began to spill even faster from her eyes.

" _Stupid bitch._ " Nyu and Pesky Dust tuned to see the little orphanage girl standing before them with her hands covering her eyes. " _You actually had faith in a human...but we don't have to tell the truth...to you._ " She said as she removed her hand from her face, and when she did. Pesky Dust went wide-eyed. the girl's left eye was gone and was replaced with all blackness with a glowing red light with blood coming out of it.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Pesky Dust shouted loudly, trembling and shaking with fright and furry. This was getting ay too much for him to handle, but he couldn't just leave Nyu here alone...she might not be able to see him, but the least he can do is be here with her. Nyu was now trembling with fright and shaking her head.

"No more, please!" Nyu said with fright. "Please no more, I can't take it anymore. No friends. No home. I have nothing...I'm all alone." She said as she then felt something, she quickly turned and puked. Pesky dust was watching this ith tears going down his eyes. He wanted to do nothing more but hug her and comfort her. This girl went through so much, no friends her puppy was killed, and now Kouta lied to her...this was wrong

"not true...you're my friend..." He said with sadness, he heard some footsteps and turned to see that it was the raped figure approaching Nyu, he narrowed his eyes. The figure knelt down next to NYu and started to rub her back, prompting Pesky Dust to grow angry.

"I don't know what you're doing...but I know you're simply using her." He said angrily. He then heard teh vice chuckle.

" _You don't know anything...Tennyson._ " She said. Pesky Dust's eyes went wide.

"Sh-she heard me? How..?" He wondered with shock. But his thoughts were interrupted by her talking to Nyu who looekd at eh figure.

" _You should know by now...this word was not meant for people like us._ " the figure said to her.

"So...waht should I do aobut it?" Nyu asked teh voice, still trembling.

" _What do you think?_ " the figure said as the wapping came of to reveal...NYU?

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Pesky Dust thought in anxiousness. Nyu...well the other Nyu, was smiling wickedly.

" _All you have to do is remake the world, for only you and our species, I have enough power to grant you that dream. So now choose, cold shoulders, hateful glances, and insults? Or make this word home for yourself?_ " Evil Nyu asked.

Pesky Dust was now worried. Even more worried when he heard teh people spouting insults to her from the other world. "Nyu, please don't fall for it!" He tried to tell her. "I know life is- _prrrr_ -hard, but you don't have to do it alone, I promise- _prrrr_ -things always get better eventually!" He told her, he knew she might not hear him, but hopefully, it might trigger something.

"Kouta..." Nyu said trembling. All of a sudden, Pesky Dust could see the flashbacks of the bullies, the gril and those people saying rude things aobut her. After a few moments...his worst fear came true. "Good-bye...I really liked you."

"NO!" Pesky Dust shouted as Nyu grabebd the other Nyu's hand and they both disappeared. Pesky Dust could not believe it...how...how could this happen. He felt horrible, he wished he was there when he was younger...if he was there...he could have prevented this.

" _Too bad Tennyson._ " The figure's voice said. Promoting him to narrow his eyes. " _You're too late._ "

"SHUT UP!" Pesky Dust shouted. "YOY CORRUPTED HER!" He shouted.

" _Me? I simply told her the truth, you humans don't deserve to liv on this Earth._ "

"I know not all humans are nice, but I'm different." He said angrily, just then something came up and looked at his Omnitrix symbol as it was flashing a bit. "Crap! I gotta go." He said as he gave one last look around the void angrily

"I don't know what you are...but I will fee her from you...and I will stop you." He said as he left. The Voice just laughed evilly.

" _Good luck, you pathetic human._ " the Voice said sinisterly

* * *

 _Maple_ Inn

Pesky Dust flew right out of Nyu's head and went outside, and turned back into Ben. Ben was breathing really hard and trying really hard not to puke...after everything he's seen, no one a really blame him. He then leaned up against the wall and looked up at the dark sky. As he was looking up, tears started to run down his face.

"Nyu...I'm so sorry." He thought sadly he said as he rubbed his face. "I'm so sorry you suffered through all of this." He said as he bought his knees to his chest and started to weep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...so lots of stuff in there, so Ben finally met teh DNA Voice. and it was not a good meeting, he also saw how Lucy became a killer but didn't see the carnage she saw. How will he cope with all this new information? Well...guess we will have to wait and see.
> 
> Also a big thanks to you guys, to whoever is reading it, I am glad you are enjoying it :)
> 
> Also a little reminder, next chapter I will be putting in my own little theory about the Voice.
> 
> Also, don't forget to read and review, I'm always happy to hear from you guys, and always happy to answer any questions you might have :)
> 
> See you all next time :)


	14. Forgivness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Last time, Ben was in Lucy's mind and he had finally seen her backstory, and had an encounter with the vicious DNA Voice. Wit this concerning him, Ben must figure out a way to save Lucy from the voice's influence, but after what he saw...can he still love her? Let's find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

Ben was still weeping up against the wall, after what he had seen in Nyu's mind, he felt horrible, angry...and...sad. She lived a horrible life, and her puppy was killed, and then Kouta lied to her, but not only that. That figure...whatever it was, manipulated her into doing all those murders. Ben was now mad at the voice for doing this, and he was a bit mad at Nyu as well for committing those murders. but he knew it wasn't entirely her fault either, due to the voice.

Thinking about it, her past was a bit like Kevin's. Sure he didn't kill people, but he wasn't a saint either as he committed some crimes. But over time he and Kevin slowly got to be best friends, and now he is dating Gwen. Maybe...he could find a way to keep Nyu from doing any more murders?

"Yea...but is it possible?" Ben asked as he calmed down a bit. "I mean that voice...if I am to help he...I need to figure out a way to get that voice out of her head. If I see Paradox again, I'll ask him if he can get in contact with some the Plumbers...see if they have a machine that allows someone to go inside someone's mind...God, I hope so."

As Ben was getting up and brushing the dust off of him. something else came to mind. That day at teh beach, when he first met the others. He remembered that Kouta didn't seem to have any reaction to Nyu, almost as if this was the first time he has seen her before...what could have happened that caused him to not remember her? Well, it seems like those questions will be answered over time. He was now getting up and going for a walk to try to clear his head.

Meanwhile, Mayu, Wanta, and Nana were now back at Maple Inn at the entrance.

"She is awake, I can feel it." Nana said cautiously. Mayu was looking on in concern, form what Nana had told her, this could go in a whole bunch of different ways, and Mayu was worried about the outcome. At this point, the door slid opened and out came Lucy, who was now looking at the two girls, but also glaring a bit at Nana.

"Hey Nyu," Mayu said, trying to break the ice a bit. "How are you doing?" she asked. then all of a sudden, Lucy sent a vector to push the girl out of the way, luckily Wanta didn't get hurt as he backed up. Nana looekd down at her friend and glared at the Diclonius Queen.

"Don't hurt her! She is not a part of this!" Nana said to her, prompting Lucy to look at her and smirk a bit.

"So..you came for a rematch?" She asked as she was smirking, she saw Nana with her libs and got confused. "You're limbs...I thought I cut them off!" As she was processing this, she was ultimately hit in the face by a vector punch. Mayu saw this and was worried.

"Nana don't!" The girl said as Nyu slowly got back up and glared at the younger Diclonius.

"Ben fixed me up!" Nana told her. "After you chopped me up, he was able to fix me up, and I feel much better now!" Nana said to the girl.

Lucy was now even more shocked and curious aobut that boy. First, he can enter people's minds, and now he can all of a sudden fix people's limbs? What the hell as that boy? She wanted to know, and she wanted to know now.

"Where is he?" she whispered in an angry voice. "I want to know just what the hell he is." She said through gritted teeth.

"I won't tell you!" Nana said as she then sent her vectors at Lucy who also sent some her way. All the while Mayu quickly ran towards them again.

Meanwhile, Kouta and Yuka were in the kitchen making some food.

"Hey Kouta, have you noticed Nyu looing at Ben at certain points." she asked, she remembered when Nyu was tugging on him tonight when he was talking to Nozomi, and it looekd as if she was upset or annoyed that Ben was ignoring her.

"Yea, it seemed as if she was upset that he was talking to Nozomi." He said as he was cutting up green onion. Kouta would be lying if he said that he was not jealous of seeing Nyu stare at Ben at certain points, but he shook his head to get those feelings out of his head.

"You think...that Nyu might like him?" She asked all of a sudden, that little surprise made Kouta not see what he was doing and accidentally cut himself. He winced a bit, to which Yuka heard and walked over to him. "You cut yourself!" She said with worry."

"It's just a scratch, it's fine." Kouta told her, trying to get her to back off, but to no avail. She then explained that he still needed to put a band-aid on it though and she left to go get the first-aid kit. "I said I was alright...he said with certainty. "I swear.." He said.

Yuka was walking out of her room with the kit, and when she took a small peek into Nyu's room, she saw that she was not there anymore. "Kouta! Nyu's not in her room!" She said with concern.

Outside, Lucy and Nana were both shocked, why? Because Mayu was hugging the older girl.

"Please stop!" Mayu begged. "You can't keep doing these things..." She said into the older girl's chest.

"thank goodness." Nana said with relief, but she still narrowed her eyes toward Lucy. Lucy looked down at Mayu for a moment, shocked at what she was doing. Why was she hugging her?

"Wh-what are you doing?" She asked the younger gril with confusion and some shock. Mayu then looked up at the older girl.

"See Nyu?" Mayu asked the older girl. "You can stop if you want to." She gave her pleading eyes. Lucy looekd into her eyes and then looked away, unknowbest to her, her eyes were trembling with regret. She then pushed the younger gril to the side as she then faced Nana again.

"This ain't over yet," The Diclonius Queen said as she stared at Nana with anger. "After I'm done with you...I'm going to find that Tennyson boy...and figure out what he is." He said through gritted teeth.

"You'll have to get through me first." Nana said in a calm voice, but before another fight could break out. Mayu ran over in front of Lucy.

"Nyu, please!" She said. "No more! Stop it!" Lucy glared at the younger girl for a while, but before she could speak or do anything, her mind flashbacked to a younger Kouta saying the same thing. All of a sudden, she immediately clutched her head and collapsed on her knees, and screamed a bit.

"Nyu!" Mayu said with concern. Nana was confused. Just...what was Lucy doing? Could this be a trick? She would have to wait and see. At that point. Kouta and Yuka both got outside to find them all standing aorund.

"Nyu!" Kouta called out. "What are you doing out here?" He asked as both he and Yuka came towards the girl, Kouta kneeled to feel her head.

"Be careful." Nana said with a calm and cautious voice. Lucy immediately looekd towards Kouta with her innocent eyes, Lucy and gone back into being Nyu.

"Kouta..." Nyu said as tears began to go down her face.

"Damn..still feels like you got a fever." He said with concern, at that point, Nyu immediately glomped teh boy. Much to his surprise.

"Kouta!" Nyu immediately began saying. "You're so nice! You're so nice!" Nyu as also whimpering a bit as she was saying this, Yuka saw and had a saddened look on her face. Kouta calmed down Nyu and they both got up, with the horned girl taking him by the arm.

Nana was watching all of this with confusion. This girl...she didn't seem like Lucy, but also...Nana could no longer sense her, even though she is standing RIGHT THERE. But..why is this though? It can't be a trick...can it?

"Nana," Mayu whispered. "Maybe you should apologize to Nyu." She said to her. Now, this prompted Nana to look at her as if she was insane. This girl is a killer! She chopped off her limbs...and she now threatened to go after Ben! But after looking at the girl, who was now resting on Kouta's shoulder, maybe she should apologize...if she can't sense Lucy anymore than this should be fine...maybe.

"I'm sorry..." Nana said as she bowed towards Nyu, Kouta and Yuka. "It was wrong of me to attack you like that...I...I hope you can forgive me." She said still bowing. But then she was immediately glomped by NYu, who hugged her big and smiled at her as if to say "I forgive you"

"Well...ok...but don't ever do that again!" Kouta said in an irritated voice at the girl, who sheepishly nodded her head. "Well...anyway, are you Mayu's friend?" He asked with curiosity.

"Yea, she's my friend." Mayu said, walking right up to her. Nyu was now back with the cousins.

"Why did she attack Nyu though?" Yuka asked a question that Kouta wanted to know as well. Mayu looked at them with caution, she couldn't tell them about where Nana came from..nor could she explain why exactly she attacked Nyu.

"Well..you see, Nana was just hungry, and it made her a littel bit cranky, but she is really sweet though." She said while blushing.

"Hey!" Nana said, who was also sporting a blush, most likely out of embarrassment.

"Well...I guess that makes sense." Kouta said. "Sorta at least..." he muttered those last words under his breath. Yuka, however, smiled a bit.

"Well, then why don't you come in for some dinner? We only have Rice at teh moment, she can come right Kouta?" She asked her cousin. Kouta was a bit reluctant, after all, she did hurt Nyu..but then again, she did apologize...he would have to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't attack her anymore.

"Sure...you can come in." He said. Yuka and Mayu smiled and Nana smiled too. Kouta then looked off into the distance. "But let's wait till Ben gets back...he's been gone for a long time now."

"Don't worry, he'll be back." Yuka said with a smile. " _I hope.._ " Yuka thought with some irritation. Everyone started to go in the house, but Nyu would not go inside, much to Kouta's confusion.

"C'mon Nyu, let's go in." He said to her. But she shook her head no as she looked out to the entrance.

"Ben, Nyu wait for Ben!" She said to Kouta, who sighed and agreed to let her wait for him.

"I swear, Ben is always going off somewhere." Kouta thought as he went inside and Nyu was waiting anxiously on the porch.

"Ben...come back soon." She said anxiously with her eyes trembling

* * *

_Path to Maple Inn_

Ben was walking back to teh house. After what he had experienced he just needed some time to himself for a bit. He wanted to know what was going on with Nyu, and more importantly, he wanted to know aobut that...thing in her.

"I gotta figure this out.." He said to himself as he was rubbing hsi hand through his hair.

"So you figured it out my boy?" Ben turned to see Professor Paradox standing right near him, prompting the Omnitrix wielder to gasp and jump back,

"STOP DOING THAT!" Ben yelled comically as he then took some deep breathes. "But yes..I found out...how could anyone bee so heartless and cruel? Especially to a little girl?" He said as he was still trembling a bit, with Paradox watching with concern. "I mean...and those...bullies...they did...did...NOT EVEN CASH OR J.T WOULD DO SUCH A HORRIBLE ACT LIKE THAT!" He screamed, causing birds nearby to flutter in the sky. Ben then got down on the ground and started to cry a bit. Paradox went over to put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders.

"Easy Ben," The professor said softly. "I know it's tough, and I know there's nothing we can do, but what's done is done..we can't change the past." He said somberly. Ben then got back up and wiped his tears away.

"Paradox, when you go back. Ask Granpa if any Plumber devices can allow one to enter someone else's mind." He said seriously.

"You want to help her," Paradox said. "Help her get rid of that...horrid voice in her head?"

"Yes," Ben said. "I know Nyu killed people, and nothing can change that...but that voice...I know it manipulated her into doing those actions, I know she did it because that voice was taking advantage of Nyu when she was at the breaking point...when you go back..please ask Grandp if there is a device like I described...please."

Paradox smiled warmly at teh boy. "I promise I will, till e meet again young Tennyson." He said as he then vanished again. Ben sighed and looked up as he continued walking.

"Nyu...I will help you...I will get rid of that voice...I promise." He said. "I swear...when I saw that thing seem me, I felt something off of it...something dark and evil, that was not just another personality..."

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben had finally made it back to the house, and opened the sliding door, to his shock and surprise. Nyu was standing there at the front door.

"Nyu?" He asked confusingly. Nyu saw him and dashed him. "Wait wh-" but he didn't finish because Nyu glomped him into a big hug, and the two went falling on the ground, with Ben on the bottom and Nyu on top.

"Ben!" She said through happiness.

"Woah, easy there Nyu." He said as he gently shoved her off of him. When he saw her, he immediately thought back to her childhood and he was trembling a bit, but after seeing her nice smile, he calmed down..albeit a bit though.

At that point, she started to tug him by the arm towards the house. "Eat!" She said with happiness.

"You guys haven't eaten yet?" He asked with curiosity, Nyu shook her head no. "Well, I guess everyone was pretty worried about me...alright, let's go." He said as Nyu began to drag him into the house.

_A few seconds later..._

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?" Yuka asked Ben in a stern tone that made him nervous, she almost reminded of him of his mom, yet Yuka seemed a bit more strict and stern.

"Sorry Yuka, I guess I? lost track of the time." He said.

this prompted Yuka to sigh in irritation. "You do know you have a watch right? Next time please take a look at it." She said with some irritation. She wasn't trying to be mad at him, but she was irritated that he was gone for so long and getting the others worried, Nyu especially.

"Ok, I promise..." He said.

"Thank you." She said with relief as she sat back down to eat. It wasn't too bad when ben saw Nana he smiled and waved at her, prompting her to give him a small smile and wave back. Mayu was in her room changing into her pajamas, and when she came back out, she sat down with everyone else.

"Itadakimasu!" They all said (sans Nana, who looked confused) and they began to dig into their rice. For a while now, Ben was getting used to it, at first he was not a fan of the stuff. But after a few weeks, it's not so bad. He saw Nyu next to him digging in her food while getting some on her face.

"So cute..." He said, but then he hard some large swallows and saw Nana wolfing down on her food in an instant. Something that made everyone look at her wide-eyes. This girl must have been really hungry if she was eating like that.

"Wow Mayu," Yuka exclaimed. "You weren't kidding about her being hungry."

"Yea..." Kouta said, still shocked himself. After Nana ate her meal she asked for another bowl, to which Yuka regretfully told her that they were out of it.

"Oh..." Nana said as she put her head down, prompting Ben to look on at her with sympathy.

"Hey," Mayu said as they all looked at her. "Um...Nana doesn't have anywhere to stay right now, can she stay here for the night?" She asked.

This prompted Kotua to look surprised. "You mean she's homeless?" He asked. He then looked over at Nana to get confirmed.

"There aren't...that many places people with horns can go..." Nana said with sadness as her eyes trembled a bit. Ben had a flashback to what he saw in Nyu's memory and he gripped his knee under the table tight...how could these horned people be treated like this? It wasn't fair...it wasn't fair at all.

"Well, I say you can stay here." Ben said, everyone looekd over at him, and Nana looekd at him too, with her eyes trembling. "As long as you're her,e you won't have anything to fear." He said with a warm smile. Nana looked back t him and lowered her head a bit

Kouta looked at Nana with a questioned look on his face. " _I do have some questions for her.._ " He thought. He then looekd over at Nana with a small smile. "Ok then, you can stay here then."

"NO!" She yelled out, causing everyone present to jump back a bit at her reaction. "I won't stay at someplace where people act like I did something wrong!" She said as she turned her head away.

"What are you talking aobut?!" Kouta asked raising his voice. "You're the one who attacked Nyu for no reason!"

"I have a reason!" she said as she stared at him. Ben sighed a bit as he looked down at his bowl of rice, only he knew what reason she had against Nyu. Speaking of Nyu, she grabebd her bowl and offered it to Nana, who looked surprised. "I-is that for me?" She asked in surprise.

"Nyu!" Nyu said as she smiled at the younger girl, everyone was watching this with some awe.

"But Nyu..." Kotua started before Yuka interrupted him.

"Well...you heard Mayu state that Nana gets cranky when she doesn't get anything to eat. So maybe Nyu is offering her some so that way she won't get mad...and attack her again." She said as he blushed a bit out of embarrassment.

"Well yea," Kouta said. "but Nyu, you have to eat too." He said to teh horned girl who looked at him in question but then looekd down at her bowl with a look of sadness on her face. Yuka stared at her bowl for a while before smiling and offered it to Nana.

"Well...I haven't touched mine yet, so you can have it if you want." Yuka said with a smile. Nana looked over at the bowl with shock as well. She then smiled a bit and shook her head.

"No...it's fine now...I'm sorry I burst like that...can I please stay for the night?" She asked.

"Of course! Right Kouta?" Yuka asked. Kouta was still curious but relented and let her stay, on one condition.

"You need to pay for the repairs on the windows, and the door as well." He said to her.

"But she doesn't have any money though." Yuka scolded him, but then Nana got out her bag and emptied all of the sare Yen she had on the table.

"Will this be enough?" she asked

"NANI?!" Kouta and Yuka yelled comically at seeing that much money that much, they then both fainted out. Much to everyone at the tables shock and confusion.

"Well..this is an eventful night." Ben said as he chuckeld a bit as he sipped his tea.

( _Eyecatch of Ben and Lucy facing eachother both with somber faces_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Nana and Mayu sitting on a beach together and laughing_ )

_Maple Inn_

Ben was in front of Maple Inn with a look of confusion on his face.

"What the...?" He thought as he walked inside to find something that made his eyes go wide with shock and horror. Lying on the floor was Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, Wanta, Nana, and Nozomi lying on the ground, all dead and in a large pool of blood with their organs all over teh place.

"GUYS!" Ben shouted with horror as he tried to run over to them, but found himself unable to move. "What the hell?" He said as he trined to wrestle hsi way out of...whateer was holding him together.

"Ha ha ha ha!" A familiar voice called out, Ben looked up to see Nyu, looking at him with a crazed evil look in her eyes. "Failed to save your little friends Tennyson?" She asked him tauntingly.

"You..." He said dangerously as he tried to wrestle his way out of whatever it was that was holding him. "Dammit, let me go!" He said to her. the girl, however, laughed again and glared at him.

"You think you can just get out of here?Tennyson?" She asked him as she got out all of the vectors. "You can't save them." She then smirked her face into that of both Lucy and Nyu. "And you can't save the girl...either." she said as she lunged her vectors at him.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

"GAH!" Ben suddenly woke up, shooting out of hsi futon with sweat going down his head and body. "Just a dream...just a dream." Ben thought s he wiped himself clean. Not feeling like going back to sleep just yet, get got up and walked tot eh kitchen for a glass of water. He made sure to be really quiet as to so he didn't wake anyone else up. He went over to the sink, turned teh faucet on and started to drink up the water in one gulp, afterward he put it down and ut his head down as well.

"I hope Granpa can find a Plumber device that can go inside people's minds...I obviously can't fight that voice as Pesky Dust..." As Ben was in thought something else came to mind. "If Nyu has a voice in her head...I wonder if I have one too...after all, I did scan her, so it might make some sense...I'll have to try it out at some point." He said. Just then he heard someone walk in and he turned aorund.

"Nyu?" He said, yep, Nyu was in the kitchen with him, she was in some yellow pajamas, with her pink flowing hair going down.

"Nyu." She said with a smile on he face at him. Ben looekd at her ith question, what could she be up for?

"what are you doing up Nyu?" He asked. Nyu pointed to the cup in his hands. "Oh, you want water?" He asked,d prompting her to nod her head. Ben then gave a small smile and put the glass under the faucet to get some water for hsi friend. "Here you go Nyu." He said

Nyu smiled and took the water and began to drink, he saw that some water was spilling from the corners of her mouth and he had to giggle aobut it. But still, what he had seen in her mind came back to him and he started to shed a few tears, but he took notice and quickly tried to wipe them away, but unfortunatly Nyu saw them and became concerned.

"Ben sad?" She asked as she tried to touch his face.

"What? No." Ben said as he tried to play it off as he lightly pushed her hands away. "I'm not sad...something in my eye, that's all." He said trying to keep a straight face, but NYu wasn't buying it.

"Ben sad..Nyu make Ben happy!" She said with a big smile as she ran out of the room for a moment. Ben tried to stop her but it was no use.

He leaned back against the sink and sighed. "Well...at least she wants to make me feel better...I just can't get what I saw out of my mind though..." He said as he rubbed his face. Nyu came back a few moments later with a paper and showed it to Ben. When he saw it, he was surprised. It was a picture of him and Nyu sitting together and holding hands. "Is this..for me?" He asked, and the girl happily nodded as she handed it to him. "Wow..thanks Nyu." He said.

"Ben happy." She said as she hugged him once more, prompting him to smile and hug her back. After a few minutes, he felt Nyu rubbing his back, which felt pretty good, to be honest. Ben finally let go of Nyu and told her that he was going to go back to bed, and that prompted teh horned girl to follow him.

"I'm going to head back to ben now Nyu, you should as well." He said. Nyu nodded and started to walk away, until she turned back around to face him. Her face was now red and she was biting her lower lip and looked nervous.

"Nyu?" Ben asked. "Are you o-" But was cut off by Nyu giving him a kiss on the cheek. Ben put his hand right where Nyu kissed him and placed it there while he was blushing like mad. "Nyu..." He said while blushing, and he was not the only one, Nyu was blushing a bit too while looking down, she then looekd back up at him and gave him a sweet smile and kissed him on the cheek again, and turned aorund to bo back to her room.

Ben was in awe, he was kissed again by Nyu, but it was on the cheek rather than the lips. Of course, Ben did feel a bit sad that it was only the cheek, but he wouldn't complain. He went back to his futon and lid back down and drifted off to sleep with a warm smile on his face.

* * *

_Cliffside_

Nana was panicking, she was crucified from a pillar and she was stripped down of all her clothing, and who were the culprits? A bunch of anthropomorphic Yen carrying staffs.

"You dare but our brothers to death?!" One Yen said with anger. "We sentence you to death by naked crucifixion!" He said as lightning flashed behind them.

"NOOOOOOO!" Nana screamed as everything went black

* * *

_Maple Inn_

"Nana!" Mayu said as he was next to Nana, trying to wake the horned girl up. Nana then sprung out of her futon and panted a bit as she looked around. She was back inside the house, she was not crucified, and she was not naked either.

"What was..." She said as Mayu interrupted her thoughts.

"Breakfast is ready!" She said with a smile. Nana looekd at Mayu and pouted a bit as she turned away.

"It's all you and Ben's fault." She said as Mayu looekd at her with confusion.

10 minutes alter they were all now in the dining room eating breakfast that consisted of rice, eggs, and sausage. Nana was enjoying the food with everyone else watching her enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry," Mayu said to her adoptive parents. "I know you weren't expecting more people to move in.."

Yuka, however, smiled at her. "Don't worry, Seven is no harder than five." She said. Ben was confused.

" _Seven? There's me, Yuka, Kouta, Nyu, Mayu, and Nana. That makes six, so who-_ " but his thoughts were interrupted as he got a glance at Wanta, who was laying by the table. " _Oh..now I see._ " He thought.

"You know? Since we have more people with us, we should all go to Enoshima!" She said with a big smile. Kouta looekd at her with confusion.

"Because there are seven of us?" He asked.

"Well, why not? I think it might be perfect for us all to get some relaxation." Yuka said to him. "I'll go call Nozomi and see if she can go with us." She said as she left the table.

"It sounds like a great idea, Wanta will love it." Mayu said with happiness.

"Nyu!" the girl said as everyone looekd at her and smiled. Nana looekd over at Nyu with a gaze and put her head down as she smiled a bit.

"I don't know what happened...but I feel...happy."She thought. Ben looked ever at everyone and smiled.

"Well, a trip to the beach never hurt anybody." He thought with a smile. Nyu took a look over at Ben, and then at Kouta and went back to eating while blushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that 's that everyone. So the next chapter is going to be a little bit of a relaxer, with the Maple Inn residents going to Enoshima to relax for the day, also, Nozomi will come clean to Ben aobut her past, which we will explain more in the next chapter.
> 
> Also, we saw another Nyu and Ben moment, at first I was going to have them make out, but I figured that it might be too early for that kind of thing, so I had her give him a cheek on the cheek instead, looking back on it, the kiss on the cheek was more sweet and cute that way. The next chapter will have some Ben X Nyu moments possibly.
> 
> So Professor Paradox appeared again, and this time Ben had him contact his Grandpa to ask if there are any Plumber devices that can let a person go in the mind of another person. Will Ben get his answer? Can he save Nyu (and by extension, Lucy) From the evil DNA Voice? Only time will tell.
> 
> Also please don't forget to read and review. I am was happy to hear from us all and always happy to answer any questions you might have :)
> 
> See you all next time :)


	15. Trip to Enoshima

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so like I said in the last chapter, this was going to be a relaxer chapter. This one, the gang will go over to Enoshima and relax for the day. Also Ben will find out aobut Nozomi's past, and also expect some more cute moments from Ben and Nyu :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

Nozomi had arrived at the Maple Inn, she was able to go with her friends to the beach today and Yuka was happy about it. Ben was currently in his room getting ready. Luckily he was able to buy himself some beachwear at some point and he was now wearing a black shirt with nothing underneath, blue swim trunks, and green sandals. He also picked up some sunscreen and some food as well.

" _This is pretty nice, no problems, no worries, just us, the beach, and the amazing sun._ " He thought with a smile. He was excited because not only was he going to spend time with his new friends, but Nyu as going as well. Speaking of Nyu...Ben was thinking back to the kiss she gave him last night, and he could not get the image out of hsi mind, he was blushing like crazy and he had a hard time sleeping. " _I just can't believe she kissed me on the cheek...out of nowhere._ " As he was thinking this, Yuka came into his room.

"Hey Ben, you almost ready?" She asked. She was wearing a black two-piece bathing suit with black flip-flops. She was also carrying a bag with her.

"Yep." He said as he got his stuff together, he took a glance at his green jacket before smiling at it. "I'll see you soon." He said to the jacket as he left with room to follow Yuka until he had a realization. " _Did I just talk to my jacket?_ " He thought with wide-eyes. " _I must be losing it._ " He thought as he chuckeld lightly.

He then went to join the rest at the door. Kouta was wearing a green button open shirt with nothing underneath and wearing a blue bathing suit with blue sandals. Mayu was wearing a pink short two-piece bathing suit with white flip-flops while also carrying Wanta. Nana was wearing the same thing as Mayu because Nana didn't have her clothes, Mayu allowed her to borrow some of hers. Nozomi was wearing a red bikini with red flip-flops, and Nyu was wearing a pink bikini with pink flip-flops. Ben thought they all looekd pretty, but Nyu looked gorgeous.

When Ben was looking at Nyu, he was blushing a bit, with Nyu looking at the Omnitrix wielder with a cute smile. He was completely lost in her gaze until Yuka snapped him back to reality.

"Ben!" Yuka said, Ben immediately shook his head and looked over at Yuka, with a red face. Mayu, Nyu, and Nozomi giggled a bit, prompting the boy to blush out of embarrassment. "What's wrong?"

"Oh..nothing." He said, still with his face red. "Nothing at all Yuka, so we ready?"

"Yep!" Yuka said with a smile. "C'mon everyone, let's go!" She said as they all made their way out of the house.

* * *

_Train Ride_

The group was now boarded and were heading off to Enoshima for a day of relaxation. they had to go on different trains though, but now there are finally on the train that will take them to Enoshima.

" _This is nice._ " Ben thought to himself as he was looking towards his housemates. " _Just going for a day of relaxation, it's great saving people but even a superhero needs their off time. Besides, there hasn't been a single crime since the robbery a few weeks back. guess people are getting scared of me._ " He thought while chuckling to himself. But he was rather curious about why there haven't been any other crimes lately.

Ben was thinking about it. Nyu, who was sitting next to him was looking at him and blushing a bit. Why did she kiss him last night? She just felt the need to kiss him, but the strange thing is...she liked it though. As she was contemplating her thoughts, she was getting a bit sleepy, guess all that riding and walking was a bit much for her. And she was putting her head on his shoulder, much to his surprise and embarrassment.

"Nyu?" Ben said as Nyu put her head on his shoulder. "Nyu, wake up, you can't sleep now." He said, but she just didn't listen and to make matter even more awkward, she wrapped her arm aorund his and held it tight, Ben would try to move it, but when he did, Nyu would moan and whine and keep a firm grip on his arm, so he relented and let her do it.

" _I swear..._ " He thought as a blush was approaching on his face. " _Still, that kiss was amazing, sure it wasn't on the lips..but its a start at least...I wonder...if we can maybe have some alone time, maybe she can-GAHHH BEN STOP IT!_ " He thought as he mentally slapped himself. " _Can't think those kinds of thoughts...I mean I do like her..and I think she might like me to, maybe we can take things slow...hopefully if she doesn't try anything._ " He thought.

Yuka, who was sitting with Kouta and Nozomi was looking back at Ben and Nyu. "Hey, you know, Nyu has been showing Ben some attention." She told the two.

"Yea..seems like it." Kouta said as his fist was trembling a bit. Yuka saw this and raised an eyebrow.

"And what's wrong?" She asked him, prompting the boy to get nervous

"What? Nothing." He said looking away. Nozomi was looking at Kouta and was blushing somewhat.

Mayu was sitting with Nana and was excited to go to Enoshima. Nana, however, was a bit confused.

"So what is this Enosima?" Nana asked with curiosity.

"Enoshima is a tourist island. It has lots of attractions and stuff, I never been there before. But I'm so excited to go!" Mayu said with eagerness. Nana looked at the girl and was just confused. This girl had alot to learn.

* * *

_Beach_

After getting off of the train, the group all walked along the shoreline. The beach looked beautiful to the ones who had never been there before, Nana was taken away by the scenery and stuff like that.

"Wow...it's so big!" Nana said with wonder.

"I know!" Mayu said with equal wonder.

"Well," Yuka said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go place our stuff down and relax for a while," she said with a smile as they all began their walk. After getting to a nice little area. Yuka placed the towel on the beach and everyone put down their bags. "Who wants to go take a dip?"

Nyu raised her hand in glee as the others all nodded their head in agreement (except for Mayu) And they all started to go in the water for some fun. Nyu was happily splashing around and Kouta was also relaxing a bit, while yuka was looking at him while blushing. And Nozomi was swimming calmly and smiling to herself. Ben was also enjoying himself as he was lost in thought.

He still can't that image of Nyu out of his mind though, she just looks so...so...cute, and he was blushing up a storm a bit from thinking about her. To that adorable smile, to that lovely hair going down her back..just so damn cute...even cuter than Julie to be honest. But Ben made a mental note not to mention that around

Mayu was sitting on the sand with her knees up to her chest and looking out at them all.

" _I wish I could join them...but I can't swim...plus, I'm so nervous too..._ " She thought with worry. Wanta went up tp he ran licked her hand, causing her to smile down at him warmly and pet him. "Thanks, Wanta..." she said with a small smile

Meanwhile, Yuka was watching as Kouta was just walking aorund in the water with a pleasant smile on hsi face, when he got a peek of his well-toned body she was blushing a bit as she turned away.

" _Why...why can't I just tell him?_ " she thought with nervousness. " _I mean...if he has trouble remembering that day at the festival...then why can't just tell him about how I truly feel?_ " She wondered. Ever since he told her about that night when the two were taking shelter. She had been wondering aobut it. What did happen to Kouta that has made him forget aobut that night? Could it have something to do with Kanae?

As Yuka was thinking aobut this. Kouta was looking over at Nyu, who was kicking her legs happily in he water, but some water splashed on Ben and Nozomi, who were both laughing a bit. " _Why am I jealous of them? I mean Nyu is adorable, but if she likes Ben, then I shouldn't be like this. But I can't help it though._ " He thought as he rubbed his face. He then looked at Nyu again in curiosity. " _But I swear...I could have sworn I have seen her somewhere before..._ " He said she was also in thought about that.

Nozomi was now sitting on the towel on the beach with her knees going up to her chest, she was looking at the others and was biting her bottom lip from nervousness. " _I just wish I could tell them...but I'm afraid of what they'll say though.._ " she said.

Nozomi." The girl got out of her thoughts to see Ben standing right over her with a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright? You seem to be upset about something."

Oh..it's nothing Ben." She said with a faint blush on her face. Ben, however, didn't buy it and sat down next to her.

"You know...if you ever have a problem and want to talk to someone aobut it, I'm right there, we're friends you know?" He said. Nozomi looked at him, and then back down where her toes wiggled in the sand a bit. "Like I said," Ben said as he got up. "If you need someone to talk to, you can tell us." He said with a smile he went back into the water. Nozomi looked back at him and was in deep thought...could she tell them? She could...but what would they think though?

Ben was just walking aorund the water feeling pretty good, he hasn't gone swimming in FOREVER! And good thing is, there were not that many people here either. not that he didn't mind, but because that meant no fans to try to crown him. He liked being a superhero and liked helping people, but there were times where he just wanted to s time to himself. And now he got that wish, although he was with new people, he didn't mind. These people were nice, a bit quirky, but nice people who took him in. But he knew that at some point, he would possibly be back home in Bellwood and leave them all behind, but he didn't want to think about that right now. For now, he was just taking it easy.

Besides..he couldn't go home yet..not until he can find a way to get that voice out of Nyu's head...hopefully Paradox will come to him again at some point. Nyu...Ben was thinking about something...if he ever does go back...to Bellwood...could he possibly...bring Nyu with him? As he was thinking this, he got splashed in the face, causing him to get distracted, he turned to see Nyu looking at him and giggling a bit, seemed like he found the culprit

"Hey!" He said with a smirk. "You're going to get it now Nyu!" He said as he chased after her, prompting the girl to giggle and try to get away from him. Ben could not deny that he had feelings for Nyu, and he wanted to try to date her, but he also wanted to wait till she matures bit, but it might not be a problem any longer, since staying with them, she has started learning new words and stuff, and she started speaking in semi-fulls sentences. It would only be a matter of time now. But could he date her though? Even though she is like this? He wondered...

Kouta was watching them and was a bit jealous of the two. He couldn't explain it, but it just irked him whenever he saw Nyu giving Ben some close attention, of course, he was not mad at her, and he was not mad at Ben either, but it was just driving him a bit insane. But the weird thing is...he still thinks about that kiss he had with Yuka at the shrine a few weeks ago...he knew that he liked her a long time ago...but he just couldn't remember, but he did remember that he did like her. Now that he and her kissed...he enjoyed it, could it be that..he might like her too? But before he could go deeper into his thoughts he got interrupted by Yuka, who called for everyone to go back to the two for some lunch.

_5 minutes later..._

"That was so much fun!" Nana said with enthusiasm as everyone was eating their food. "I never did that before in all my life, it was really fun!" She said happily as she was chewing on some food.

" _This girl's never been to the beach before?_ " Kouta thought with curiosity. Where did she come from? Actually...that's something he wants to know, she might be from wherever Nyu is from. but he won't press for questions...at least not now, today was just a day of realization, he couldn't help but look at Yuka in her black bikini and got a faint blush on his face.

"So...after this what are we going to do?" He asked. Yuka thought about it for a while.

"We should all go check out the different areas and sights!" she said with enthusiasm. Everyone seemed to agree (Nana just looked confused again)

"Good idea, but where should we go exactly?" Kouta asked as he had a mouthful of rice.

"Well, I was thinking that we could go and check out the shrines and the aquarium." She said with a smile. Everyone nodded to her ideas (sans Nana, who was still confused)

"I'm down for it." Ben said with a smile. "But shouldn't we change first though?" he asked.

"Oh that's right, there a restroom nearby, we can all change in there." She said. "Restroom for boys and restroom for girls." She said as he then narrowed her eyes at Kouta. "Akright Kouta?"

"What are you looking at me for?" He asked. Ben smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure she is just teasing you, buddy, let's go." He said as he pulled Kouta up and they began to walk, with Yuka carrying the other bags and following them.

Ben and Kouta found a men's hut nearby and began to change into their normal attire. Kouta was still thinking aobut Nana's situation and wanted to know what Ben thought.

"Hey Ben, can I ask you something?" Kouta asked the foreigner. Ben turned to smile a bit.

"Sure, what is it?" He asked.

"Well...it's about that girl Nana, I am still a bit mad aobut her attacking Nyu...but form the way she reacted, she seemed to recognize her from somewhere. Do you think she might have a connection to Nyu?" He asked.

Ben was nervous, he knew about their feud due to the events at the graveyard. But he was not planing pon telling Kouta about that anytime soon, plus would he believe him? Possibly not.

"Maybe? I mean they do have horns." Ben said as he put a shirt on.

"Yea...but still though, why do you think she attacked Nyu?"

"I don't know, maybe Nana thought Nyu was someone else or something, but she apologized so it's all good though." Ben said while shrugging his shoulders.

Kouta still wasn't sure though, he was happy that Nana apologized, but he was still curious aobut her. "Well, I am pretty curious aobut her, and I do have some questions."

"Maybe we shouldn't push it though, she can tell us when she feels like it, we don't want her to feel uncomfortable now." Bens aid as he got on the rest of his clothes. He was wearing some blue jeans, his shoes, and a white shirt. "Anyway, let's go meet the girls, they might be waiting for us."

"Yea," Kouta said as she got the rest of his outfit on, he was wearing some shorts and a black shirt with shoes. "Besides, don't want Yuka to get worried...or pissed." He said as she and Ben both paled a bit at the thought of an angry Yuka.

* * *

_Enoshima Shrine_

Everyone was now in casual attire and walking towards The Enoshima Shrine. Ben couldn't help but blush when he aw Nyu wearing a pink dress with white flip-flops and a cute little hat to hid her hair.

"So cute...!" He thought while blushing a bit, Yuka saw this and was suspicious. Ben then saw Nozomi looking down a bit with a nervous expression, his blush vanished and turned into one of concern and curiosity. "I wonder...she is always nervous about something, maybe I should ask her what's up if we get a chance to talk together at some point."

After walking for a few minutes, they made it to the shrine. Ben was in awe at how beautiful it looked,d and he was not the only one. Nana was both awestruck by it.

"This shrine is dedicated to the worship of teh kami Benten, a group of Japanese Buddist spirits." Yuka explained with a smile on her face.

It looks so pretty." Mayu said with a smile on her face. "Right Ben? she asked her brother.

"Yea, I have never seen anything so beautiful like this." He explained. Funny, if he was still ten, he would possibly find it boring, but instead he found it pretty interesting. He looked over at Nozomi, who was still looking down and he got a bit concerned. "Nozomi..you alright?" Her asked.

"W-what? Oh..I'm fine..." She said turning away. Bens sighed and looekd at the others.

"Can you all give us a few minutes? I want to talk to Nozomi alone for a bit." He said to them. Nozomi was looking at him with pleading eyes, but it was not going to work.

"Well...I guess." Kouta said. Yuka looked over at him with a scorning look, but then Nozomi saw this and raised her hand.

"It's fine Yuka." She said twidling her fingers. Yuka looekd over at her, and then at Ben, who nodded his head. Yuka sighed and relented and led her team away from the shrine. Nyu looked back to Ben and wrapped her arm around his.

"Nyu, it's fine. I'll catch up with you guys." He said. Nyu was still not letting go and Yuka and Kouta had to walk over to get her off.

"Ben!" Nyu said with a look that was mixed with sadness and worry. Bn looked back at teh horned girl and smiled.

"Don't worry Nyu, I'll catch up. Don't worry." He said with a smile. that got Nyu to calm down a bit but still worried.

"C'mon Nyu," Kouta said. "We won't go too far, they'll catch up. After that, we will head on to the aquarium." He said. That made Nyu smile a bit and nodded her head, albeit reluctantly. She looked at Ben again and left with Kouta and Yuka.

"Nozomi," ben said. "I know you are quiet, and I respect that, but if you can..could you please explain why? If it's something horrible I will not tell anyone, I promise." He said.

Noomi looked at Ben for a while. Should she tell him? Would he make fun of her or something? She was really nervous, but after seeing the honesty in hsi eyes, maybe...just maybe...

"But like I said, if you don't then it's fine, let's go cat-"

"NO!" Nozomi suddenly yelled, causing Ben to go wide-eyed and look back at her by her reaction, Nozomi realized what she did and was now blushing out of embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry..." she said. "It's just...I want to tell you, but I am just afraid...that you might...I don't know..." she said.

"Nozomi, I promise I will not make fun of you for it." Ben said as he gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Nozomi blushed a bit and sighed to relent.

"Ok...well, you know how I didn't want to sing to you all that night?" She asked, prompting the Omnitrix wielder to nod his head. "And you know how my family doesn't approve?" Ben nodded again. "Well...my dad...he strongly opposes it...he hats my dream so much that he...that he.." As she was trying to say them, tears were starting to spill from the corners of her eyes. Ben saw this and got worried.

"Nozomi? If you don't want to finish, I understand." He said with concern. bt he was secretly worried, whatever her dad is doing to her, it must not be pretty good.

"No..I'll explain." Nozomi said as she calmed down a bit and wiped away her tears. "My dad...he...hits me..." she said while choking a sob.

Ben heard this and was now fuming a bit. A father BEATING his OWN child? For SINGING? What the hell?! Ben was pissed, but he was not as pissed because it was way different from Mayu's situation. But this still didn't excuse it.

He...hits you?" He asked with some anger in his voice. Something which Nozomi noticed and became worried.

"Ben, please don't be angry!" Nozomi pleaded.

"But he hit you...just because you want to sing...it is not right for him to do that..." He said through gritted teeth. Nozomi was worried now, and Ben saw the fear on her face and his face became much softer. "I'm sorry, but he should not have done that just because of your dream..you should tell him what you want to do."

"But...I'm afraid though." She said through nervousness again.

Be sighed a bit. "Nozomi, you should never be afraid to stick up for yourself. This is your dream...to become a singer right?" Nozomi nodded her head. "Then you need to stick up for yourself. Tell him that you want to do what you want to do. And if he doesn't like it...bug deal." He said.

Nozomi was looking at Ben a bit and was thinking about his words. It was true, she wanted to stick up to her dad, but was so nervous due to her being beaten by him. "But...what if he hits me?" She asked nervously.

Ben narrowed hsi eyes. "Well...I'll come with you then." When he said this, Nozomi looked at him with wide-eyes. "When you go home again I'll come with you and be by your side, and if he tries anything. then I'll stop him." He said with determination.

Nozomi was wide-eyed again, and she also had some tears going down her face, not out of sadness, but for happiness. Ben wrapped his arms around Nozomi into a nice warm hug.

"You're my friend Nozomi, and I won't let anything happen to my friends." He said.

"Th-thank you Ben." Nozomi said with a smile on her face.

( _Eyecatch featuring Nozomi smiling while thinking about the residents at Maple Inn_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Nyu looking at Ben while blushing and twidling her dress_ )

_Enoshima Train Station_

Everyone enjoyed the aquarium, Nana really enjoyed seeing all the fishes swimming aorund and everyone as smiling at seeing Nana's reactions. After leaving the aquarium. They all went back to teh station to board the train back to Kamakura.

"But do we have to go?" Nana asked with some disappointment.

"Unfortunately yes Nana, don't worry we will come back again at some point." Yuka said with a smile. As they were all waiting for the train. Kouta was still looking at Nyu, who was once again, wrapped aorund Ben's arm.

" _While I am a bit jealous..I wonder what has gotten her so worked up aobut Ben lately._ " He thought. " _I remember when she would not let him leave her sight while we were at the aquarium and stuff like that..._ " He was wondering why exactly Nyu was acting like this. He then looekd back to Nana. " _Hopefully tomorrow, when we are doing some work aorund the house, she can tell us a bit about herself...plus we have to go out and get her some clothes as well_."

Finally, after what seemed like a long time, the train had finally arrived and the gang was going back to Kamakura. As they were riding by, they noticed the sun going down.

"Once we get home, I'll start making dinner. Nozomi, do you want to come over for dinner again?" Yuka asked the girl.

"No, I'm fine. I'll just head home." Nozomi said, she then glanced over at Ben, who was blushing due to NYu putting her head don his shoulder and smiled. "Thank you, Ben..." She thought.

Speaking of...Ben was sitting with Nyu, and her head was on his shoulder and her arms wrapping around his. She was like that all day, ever since he and Nozomi caught up with them. Ben was chuckling to himself though, guess Nyu was like "Now you are not leaving my sight for the rest of the day." This thought prompted Ben to chuckle a bit.

" _From how she is acting, I do believe that she might be liking me back, but she still makes faces at Kouta though..._ " He thought, as he moved a bit, Nyu's grip on his arm was tight and didn't let go.

Mayu looked at them and had a small smile on her face. " _Nyu seems to like Ben alot...I feel so happy for my big brother._ " Se thought with a giggle as Nana was looking about the window. Mayu turned back to face Nana. "So Nana, how did you like it?"

"It was really amazing!" Nana said with a big smile. "So many areas, the beach, that shrine. Everything was pure bliss." She said with a nice warm smile. "I never thought I would be able to see any of this...it feels really great." She said. " _Papa...I wish you were there with the rest of us._ " She thought sadly.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

By the time everyone got back to Maple Inn, it was already dark out. Nozomi said goodbye to everyone and headed back home. Now the residents were now inside the house and putting their stuff away. Ben was now wearing a tank top and shorts. Since they had a bite to eat at a restaurant, he was not hungry and just sat on his futon and thought about the events of the day. The beach was fun, he also enjoyed the shrines and the aquarium.

But he was also focused on the fact that Nyu was all over him today, and that she had her arms tugged aorund his for a majority of the day. People were making faces and he even heard some guys mutter something aobut him being a lucky bastard. Ben didn't care though, he liked Nyu, and although he doesn't want to admit it yet, he really wants to be with her..but the question is, does she though?

Sure she kissed home before, but he also saw her make some glances over at Kouta as well, so Ben decided that it was up to her and her alone to see who she wanted to be with. But Ben was hoping that it would be him, and if Nyu didn't want him, then he would be fine and not let it bother him. At this moment his stomach started to growl.

"Huh, guess that dinner was too short for me." He said in amusement. "Good thing I bought myself some candies." He said as he walked over to his closet and got out a small bag of chocolate. "Chocolate, come to papa." He said as he got out a pice, as he was aobut to eat it, he heard the door open again. And who was it?

"Nyu!" Yep, Nyu was there earing a shirt and shorts. Ben saw her and smiled.

"Oh hey Nyu, what's up?" He asked. Nyu smiled back and walked over to sit with him, she saw the chocolates and pointed at the bag. "You want one?" She nodded her head with a smile and Ben gave it to her. When Nyu bit into the chocolate, she smiled widely and mewled at its taste. "I'm glad you like it." He said. Nyu giggled and reached into the bag and got out a piece of chocolate to give to Ben, who smiled and took it back and chewed.

"So..I had really fun today, didn't you?" He asked. Nyu nodded her head in agreement with a smile on her face. "I'm glad." He said with a smile, he then noticed some chocolate ner her lips and chuckeld a bit. "You got some chocolate near your lip." He said, he got up to go to his desk and grab a tissue. "Hang on NYu, I'll be ri-YIP!" He then suddenly tripped over a wire and fell right on top of Nyu...and their lips were touching again.

"I'm so sorry!" He said with worry as he got off of her and stood up. " _Dang, just like what happened a few weeks ago._ " He thought with worry as both he and Nyu were blushing again. He then got more nervous when Nyu was getting up and leaning towards him. Was she going to kiss him again? Was she going to hit him? Was she going to do? WHAT WAS SHE GOING TO DO!?

"Ben..." Nyu said with a blush on her face as she did something Ben did not expect. She leaned in and kissed him fully on the lips. Ben's eyes went wide with shock. Sure he wanted to do with to Nyu for a while, but now..of all times...this was just a shocker. Ben then closed his eyes and kissed her back, it lasted only a few minutes though.

After a few minutes, they broke the kiss up to stare at each other in the eyes. Both of them were blushing like crazy. Nyu even more because her face was as red as a cherry. Ben was lost in her beautiful gaze.

"Wow...that was amazing." He said without a care in the world. After hearing what the just said, his face turned as red as a cherry, and Nyu giggled a bit. "I'm sorry Nyu, do you forgive me for falling on you?" He asked. "Also...do you forgive me for kissing you?" He asked while twidling his fingers nervously.

Nyu smiled and nodded her head, but as Ben sighed in relief. Nyu kissed him on the cheek again and blushed again. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Nyu then ran out of the room, her face all flustered. Ben saw her run and think one thing to himself.

"Best day of my life." He then got in hsi futon and fell asleep, dreaming pleasant dreams

Nyu meanwhile ran to her room and got in her futon. What was going on? Why does NYu feel these feelings? Nyu can't help but find Ben so sweet and handsome too. Could...Nyu be..falling in love with Ben? but what about Kouta? Oh..this is all hurting poor Nyu's head.

" _Nyu like Ben._ " She said. " _But Nyu..also like Kouta..._ " Nyu was thinking in her head...oh this was hard. Who should she pick? she could not deny that she liked both boys, but it was so hard as to who to pick. Nyu then felt really sleepy. "Sleepy..." She said with a tired voice as she laid down in her futon and dozed off with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was pretty much it, I am sorry if some of you do not like this won,e it was kind of hard to write, but yea Ben had his moment with Nozomi today, he is going to have more moments with the rest of Mapel Inn residents as the story progress. Next time we will be introduced to a Dicloinus that was able to beat Lucy herself...Number 36.
> 
> Also about the kiss scene. This is Nyu. Not Lucy, Lucy will have her own moment with Ben at some point, possibly when the fight with Mariko is happening. But I do hope you all liked it, this shows that Nyu is starting to like Ben more, even more than Kouta, but she will still think aobut Kouta because of Lucy.
> 
> Also please do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have :)
> 
> See you all next time :)


	16. Number 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I hope you are all doing alright :) Now the last chapter was just a relaxer episode, but now I'm getting back into the story, and in this chaoter..we shall be introduced to the Diclonius..who was able to beat Lucy...well in the anime version at least...Who is it? Well, we will just have to find out, also we shall see more glimpses of Nana in Maple Inn. Sit back, grab popcorn, and watch :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Diconius Institute/Night Before_

Shirakawa was walking down the halls of the Institute, with Isobe walking with her. Chief Kakuzawa had told her to get Number 35 and get her ready, as she was going to go after Lucy and kill Nana.

"Are you kidding?" Isobe asked with concern. "We're releasing number Number 35?" He asked as he and Shirakawa were still walking. "Doesn't the Director know aobut her?"

"Yes, but it's his order though." Shirakawa told the man as they continued to walk. Isobe was a bit concerned aobut this, 35 was supposed to be the most dangerous Silpelit, even more, dangerous than Lucy herself, and the chief asked for her to be released? Just what was he thinking?

"Well...if you ask me, it is not a good idea." Isobe said as they reached their destination, they had entered another room that was holding a large door with a big lock on it. "When ii comes to killing, she has set eh bar really high." He said as they walked over to teh door and Shirakawa swiped her key card to open the door. When it opened they were greeted by a sight, in there was a big containment device with the number 35 on it, it looked dented a bit. And what was teh cause of it?

"Wait...I can.." Shirakawa said with shock. Yes, those were vectors all around the device. She was shocked, so this was what vectors looekd like? And there were..so many!

"Yes, you can see Number 35's Vectors, she is the strongest than the other Dicloni," Isobe explained to her. "Which is also the reason why we keep her in this big large containment cell, her Vectors can reach to about 11 meters...amazing since she is only five years old...make me worried about how she will be when she is older." He said with dread. Shirakawa was looking at all of this and was trembling a bit.

"Still though..are you serious about releasing her though?" He asked the secretary. "Sure she can triumph over Lucy, but it's a very risky thing to do." He said

"I am only here to carry out the Directors orders..." She said sternly, but a part of her was nervous as well...but she knows something about her though...something that'll make her cooperate with them.

"So, if you don't mind me asking...how are we going to get her to listen?" Isobe asked. "I doubt we can do it by getting on our knees and begging..."

Shirakawa sighed and looekd at him. "You're right, we won't be begging...we'll threaten." She said turning back to the chamber. Isobe raised an eyebrow with confusion. "Number 35's body..is full of explosives.

Isobe eyes went wide fro this revelation...a little girl's body had explosives in her? I ea sure she is a Diclonius...but this was probably going overkill, and he was not the only one. Though Shirakawa looekd stern, deep down, she too was not happy aobut this.

" _Just what the hell was the Director thinking?_ " Isobe thought. " _Implanting explosives in a small child?_ " His fists were gripping at his sides really hard. Her sighed as he still looked up at the chamber. "Apparently, she has been locked up in here since she was born, so she might be weak as soon as she comes out." He said. All of a sudden, the door behind them opens up and they tune around to see who it is. It was a woman who looked to be in her late 20s-early 30s, she had black hair that was in two pigtails that went down her back, she was also wearing a green shirt that was underneath a white lab coat, and she wore pinkish shoes.

"I'm Saito," She said tot hem. "I have been overseeing Mariko for five years now." she said with a smile. "And I have been talking with her almost every day now, also I am teaching her aobut stuff every day so she won't have any trouble when she leaves."

Isobe was listening to her words and seemed intrigued, seems like Saito has been taming Number 35 for a while now...hopefully, it might help a bit. Saito also explained that Mariko often calls her mother and that she feels like one as well. Isobe thought it was fine, hopefully, it meant that hopefully Number 35 will listen and they won't have to detonate any of the bombs in the girl's body.

Saito was walking closer to the chamber as Shirakawa and Isobe stood back. the latter still having a nervous face on.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked the secretary.

"Directors orders; if Saito can get through to her, then we shall be fine...but if she doesn't follow directions, then we blow up one of the bombs in her body." she said, while slightly trembling a bit, and Isobe doing the same. The man sighed and nodded to the other's, who was on the other side of the glass. One of them pushed a button, and with that. the large chamber started to open with a hissing sound.

As the doors were opening, there was a small figure limping out. She was small, possibly around five to six years old, and had one of those weird helmets on her head She was limping out of the chamber while trying to maintain her balance while holding on the wall. Saito was tearing up a bit, happy to be seeing her foster daughter for the first time.

"Mariko, come to mommy!" Saito said with a smile. Shirakawa and Isobe were both shocked at this girl's appearance, she looked like she had been through alot, and she had a weird cord going up her...well I'd rather not say it.

" _So she's been surviving on nutrients..._ " Isobe thought. " _Interesting..."_ But his interests were replaced by a look of concern as Sito was walking up to the girl slowly. "Are you sure you're alright getting that close to her?" He called out, but the woman ignored him. When the small girl fell to the ground, Saito gasped in shock and ran towards her. " _She's suicidal..._ " He thought. Shirakawa didn't say anything, but she could not help but worry a bit.

Saito gently grabbed the girl and held her up by her body. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. "Poor girl...you've gotten so skinny." She then started to take off the helmet, she then unwrapped some bandages as well. When the bandages were off, she finally saw Mariko's face, she had pink eyes, and also had long pink hair, but not long like Lucy's but the same light color. Her eyes flickered a bit before she finally got a glimpse of who she was looking at.

M-Mommy?" she asked while looking up at the older woman.

Saito looked down in happiness as tears were threatening to spill. "Yes, honey..I'm your Mommy!" She said with a smile. Isobe and Shirakawa were watching, Isobe was feeling pretty good, with Sito easing Mariko, she might be able to be of use in defeating Lucy once and for all.

Mariko looked happy, but then her happy grin turned into one of a scowl. "No, you're not!" She said, and before anyone knew it...

**SLICE**

Saito exploded with her body getting all sliced up from between, with her top half being thrown into the watcher's windows. This sent everyone in a panic.

"Dammit," Isobe muttered before getting hsi walkie talkie out. "ACTIVATE THE ALARMS AND GET THE GUARDS!" He said with caution as the alarms went off. He then noticed that Mariko's Vectors were starting to hover above her, with the girl giving off a vicious and sadistic grin. Shirakawa was not moving from her spot, having been shocked by the sudden death of Saito. Mariko's Vectors started to launch themselves at the shocked secretary

"SHIRAKAWA, MOVE!" Isobe yelled out in warning, but Shirakawa didn't move, and as the Vectors were getting closer...

**BOOM**

Mariko's right arm exploded, causing the Vectors to stop and Mariko to fall to the ground and started crying and screaming in pain, Shirakawa ordered for the guards to restrain her as they started to barge in and started to restrain her, some had their feet on her hand and legs, while another few had their guns pointed at her. Isobe looked back to see that Saito, who was breathing heavily, had her fingers on one of the buttons that activated the explosions. Saito was still breathing..until it started going slower until her top half finally slid off and she died.

" _I knew this was going to go wrong..."_ Isobe thought as he rubbed his hands through his hair and shook it. He then looked to see Shirakawa looking down on the downed Diclonius, with a stern look on her face.

"Have you had enough now?" She asked as the girl looked up with tears going down her eyes. "We have more than just one bomb in you you know...if you disobey, then you will suffer more. Do you understand me?" She asked. Mariko looked up and looked back down with tears going down her eyes as she started to cry.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben was in the kitchen helping Yuka make breakfast for everyone, Nozomi had come over again to spend the day with them. Things have been going alright since the trip yesterday, although Ben could tell that Kouta was still a bit angry at Nana for attacking Nyu. Ben would be lying if he said that he wasn't, he was a bit mad, but knowing aobut what happened at the graveyard, he could understand.

"Hopefully today will go good...I hope." Ben thought with worry. Afterward, he brought out bowls of steamaed rice and placed them at the designated areas for everyone, Yuka bought out some Miso soup for the others as well, and Ben went back to get the sausage. Afterward, they all got down together and sat down.

"Wow!" Nana said brightly. "This stuff is really good...did you make this Ben?" she asked.

"Uh, yea.." Ben said, a bit startled by her outburst, of course, he could not blame her however, she then began to dive back into her food. Mayu took notice of the dress Nana was wearing, it was still torn from her fight with Lucy back at the graveyard.

"So..Nana, aren't you going to change your clothes?" Mayu asked. "I mean..you're sleeves are ripped up..." But she possibly should not have asked that, because Nana then gave her a hurt look.

"No!" she said to her. "Papa gave me this dress, so it's good enough!" She said turning away with a pout. Ben sighed a bit, but couldn't help but chuckle a bit due to him thinking she looked cute with the pout. He saw Nozomi looking at Nana and twidled her thumbs a bit.

"Uh, Nana?" Nozomi said nervously. "If you want...I could fix the sleeves for you..." She said with a small smile. Nana looked at the older girl with a shocked expression.

"R-really? You can do that for me?" She asked. Nozomi gave her a smile and nodded her head.

"Yes, I am proud of my sewing skills." She said while nodding her head.

"You're such a nice person Nozomi!" Nana said with a big grin. causing the schoolgirl to blush a bit and smile.

"Good," Kouta said, Ben saw his face and didn't really like it, because Kouta had a lot of sternness in his voice. "Then entrust your old rag to Nozomi then." He said.

"Kouta!" Yuka and Ben exclaimed in unison, a bit peeved at how he said that. Ben could see him gripping the cup he was holding was tightening a bit.

"OLD RAG!" Nana yelled out to him, in a mix of both anger and hurtfulness.

"Alright, just calm down," Ben said. trying to keep the peace between everyone at teh table. "What's going on Kouta?" He asked but he was ignored.

"Unlike Nozomi, you aren't here to rest like this." He said sternly as he took another sip of his drink. Mayu could see the tension build up and decided to put a stop to it.

"Hey, Nana," Mayu said, taking the girl's hand. "Why don't we go take a bath?" she suggested, she wanted to get Nana away from everyone else and to go help her calm down. Nana looked at Mayu. who was giving her a small smile and an odd and smiled back a bit.

"Ok then.." she said.

Yea, go take a bath." Kouta said to her, a bit more sternly. Ben and Yuka glared at him as Mayu pulled the Diclonius out of the room.

"Ok dude," Ben said. "What's your deal?" He asked a bit ticked off at him for how he was acting. "You sure as hell didn't act like this yesterday, what did that all mean nothing?" He asked.

Kouta glared at him right back and just continued to drink his tea, Ben sighed in irritation and went to the kitchen to go cool off. Nyu looked worried and went to follow after him. Yuka gave Kouta a glare and Nozomi looked worried.

"I understand he is upset, but he needs to get over it!" Ben thought with anger. He was at teh sink and getting a drink of water, as he was chugging it down he was rubbing his face with his left hand. This was difficult, and it was only going to get more difficult if Kouta is going to act like this...what should he do? His thoughts were interrupted by some footsteps, he turned aorund with an annoyed look, thinking it was Kouta, but when he saw Nyu's face instead, his face turned into one of softness.

"Ben upset?" She asked with concern in her eyes.

"No..." He said with a sigh. "It's just...Kouta's just feeling a bit mad because of what happened when Nana attacked you." He said to her, Nyu looked concerned and looked down a bit.

"Nyu fault?" She asked a bit while trembling. Ben saw this and quickly walked up to grab her hands.

"No, it was not your fault." Ben said to her. " _Well...sorta..._ " He thought having remembered the battle in the graveyard. "It was not your fault Nyu, she was possibly a bit grumpy, and you must have looked like someone she was familiar with who gave her a hard time." He told her, but Nyu just had a look of confusion though. Ben sighed. "Forget aobut it, but know this...it was not your fault, ok?" He asked.

The horned girl nodded a bit and smiled at him, Ben smiled back and he immediately turned red when he felt his heart beating fast again. " _Dang it Ben, can't you just tell her how you really feel? I mean she is learning every day...maybe shou-_ " But his thoughts were interrupted by Nyu grabbing hi face and moving it aorund with her hands.

"Haha, funny face!" She said with a smile as she continued to make funny faces with Bens' face, causing her to giggle. Ben was also smiling at this innocent act...innocent...he still wanted to know aobut that DNA Voice...and that cold act she put on back at the graveyard...this could not be a facade at all, he had to get to the bottom of this, and somehow as well.

Meanwhile, Mayu and Nana were in the bath, Nana would have enjoyed the feeling of it, but the little argument she had with Kouta prevented it though.

"How could he say such bad things to me?!" She asked as Mayu was giving her a sympathetic look.

"Well, he might still be mad at you for hurting Nyu..." Mayu said, trying to comfort her. "But I'm sure he will get over it soon."

Nana pouted and turned to face the water. "Oh yeah? Well fine, who cares if I'm hated? As soon as I find another place, I'll live there in peace!" She said while looking into the tub angrily.

Mayu looekd at the girl with concern. "I don't hate you Nana." She said reassuringly. "No one hates you at all, like I said, just give Kouta some time to calm down, and he will get over it." She said. Nana sighed ad bit and put her head back to look up at the ceiling.

" _But still...this is a really nice place. And this bath? It feels really good...now those people would just tie me up and spray warm water on me with those long hose thingies...but taking a bath here? While sitting down? It feels so amazing and nice._ " She thought with a smile. " _This might be the first time in my life that I'm taking an actual bath._ "

After a few minutes, the girls were done with their bath and they came out of the bathroom, now dressed in shirts and shorts. Yuka noticed them and smiled.

"So, how was the bath?" she asked.

"It was amazing!" Nana said with a smile on her face. Mayu smiled as well and nodded her head.

"Well good," Yuka said with her own smile. "Now, would you guys like any Ice Cream? Nozomi bought some over."

"Ice...Cream...?" Nana asked confusingly.

Meanwhile Ben was currently in the dining room looking out the window, taken aback by the lovely cherry blossoms that were blowing in the wind, Nozomi was st the table while sewing up Nana's dress, Ben saw and was impressed, she really was a good seamstress.

"Wow Nozomi," Ben said with a smile. "You're doing a pretty good job on fixing Nana's dress!" Nozomi looked at him and blushed a bit.

"Th-thanks Ben..." she said while looking back at the dress, all the while blushing a bit while also smiling. Nozomi was feeling a bit more comfortable aorund the residents of Maple Inn, even though they knew aobut her diapers (no thanks form Kouta) but they didn't make fun of her for it, yep. Nozomi was feeling accepted by everyone in the house, due to the nice nature of it.

"Nozomi!" Yuka said to her as Nana and Mayu followed her in. "Why don't you get the Ice Cream you bought over? She asked.

Ben raised an eyebrow. " _Ice Cream? Now? We just had breakfast though?_ " Her thought with curiosity. Nozomi looekd surprised and smiled a bit

"Oh, right!" she said with a grin as she went into the kitchen to get it. Yuka signaled Ben to come over and have some Ice Cream as well. Ben joined his friends as they all sat down and waited for their frozen treat.

"So what's the plan for today?" Ben asked Yuka, Yuka looked at Mayu and Nana, who was looking at her back and she whispered something in his ear, he nodded and nodded again, and as she stopped he went wide-eyed. "Oh...ok sounds good." He said.

"What's going on?" Mayu asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later Mayu," Yuka said with a sly smile, something Mayu raised an eyebrow at, she then looekd at Ben and have a sly smile of his own.

"You'll find out later sis." He said as Mayu sighed a bit and rolled her eyes, but smiled at her big brother figure and adoptive mother. Nana was still confused and wondering what was going on. After a few minutes, Nozomi came back out with some bowls full of yummy Ice Cream. Nana looekd down at teh frozen treat with wonder and confusion, she then saw everyone else smile at her as she looked back at the treat and gulped nervously. She took her spoon, dunk it in and put the spoonful in her mouth

"WOOWW!" She said as she went wide-eyed, some of the others were startled by her outburst as she kept eating. "This stuff is amazing! What do I do Mayu? I can't stop eating it!" she said as he started taking big spoonfuls in her moth.

"Uh, Nana?" Ben said. "If you keep eating like that you're going to-" But he didn't get a chance to finish as Nana immediately dropped her spoon and put her hand on her forehead. "Give you a headache.." He deadpanned.

"Looks like you figure it out though." Mayu said with a small smile and Yuka and Nozomi giggled.

"Don't feel too bad Nana," Ben said as he was unknowingly taking large spoonfuls himself. "It's happened to all of us at one-" Ben stopped, and all of a sudden dropped his spoon...oh no...he didn't

"GAHHH!" He yelled, startling everyone. "BRAIN FREEZE!" He yelled as he then banged his head on the table. "Head..hurting...can't think..." He whimpered as he was shaking.

"Oh, Ben..." Mayu said sympathetically as she went over and rubbed her brother's head with comfort. The other girls looked at him with worry, but then they heard some footsteps approaching.

"Is everything alright?" Kouta asked as he had Nyu with him. "We heard some screaming!" He said with concern.

"It's alright, Ben just had a brain freeze from too much Ice Cream," Yuka said with a small frown. Nyu saw Ben whimpering and instantly ran over and kneeled down to him.

"Ben?" She asked worriedly as he had his hands on his head. Nyu was worried and shook his arm gently. "Ben hurt?" She asked with concern. Ben rubbed his head a few more before slowly looking up to face the girl's worried look.

"I'm alright now...just a headache at teh moment...it's alright Nyu." He said with a small smile.

"Yayy!" She said as she clapped her hands happily. Kouta sighed in relief, as he turned to face Nana he frowned again, albeit a littel bit, not aobut the whole attack on Nyu, but more on how she might be connected some way to her, because of their horns.

"Nana," Kouta said to the girl. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked. Nana looekd a bit nervous, and she was not the only one.

( _Eyecatch of Mayu walking with Gray Mattter on her head_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Four Arms holding Mayu and Nana_ )

Nyu was over by the clock with Mayu and Nozomi. Turns out that Nyu was messing with the clock and trying to see if she could fix it, so she disassembled everything. So now the three girls were trying to figure out how to put the thing back together.

"I wonder where this piece goes..." Mayu was wondering.

"Uh...maybe there?" Nozomi said nervously while twidling her fingers. Mayu looekd at the older girl and gave her a small smile.

"you don't have to be nervous Nozomi, if we can't get this done then that's fine, we're all friends here." She said with a soft smile. Nozomi looked at her, and then at Nyu who was smiling as well.

"Right...thank you." she said giving her a small smile as well.

Meanwhile, The older members were in the dining room area. Kouta was sitting across from Nana and Yuka and Ben were both standing up while watching. Ben was pretty nervous, and he was not teh only one. This could go either way, but he already made a mental note to step in if either Nana or Kout awent out of line.

"You can ask me all you want!" Nana said, raising her voice a bit. "I won't tell you anything!" She said to them.

"Nana, just calm down." Ben said trying to appease her, but the horned girl just looked and pouted as she turned away.

"Yea," Yuka said. "We just want to know what your relationship with Nyu is." The older girl asked. They didn't want to know that much, they just wanted to know what kind of relationship or history she has with Nyu.

Ben, having been there at teh graveyard, knew right away that the relationship was not a positive one, and that this talk could go either way. And it was making him a bit nervous. Kouta looked at the girl and frowned some more, mainly due to her not talking.

"Look, if you don't want to talk to us, I'm not going to pressure you or anything like that." He said, Nana still continued to look away. "But you're not a guest like Nozomi is, there is a price you have to pay if you want to stay here, got it?"

"Kouta, you don't need to sound harsh on her." Ben scolded.

"I agree!" Yuka said while glaring at her cousin.

Nana's eyes started to shed tiny tears as she then got up. "Fine! If that's how it is, then I'm not hanging aorund this stupid place anymore!" She was trembling a bit,

"C'mon Nana..." Ben said. He wanted to walk over and I've her a hug but figured that it wouldn't be appropriate at the moment, so he stood where he stood, all the while glaring at Kouta a bit, he wished that the other boy wouldn't be so harsh to Nana, all he could do was shake his head in irritation and wipe his face.

"Fine then," Kouta said while crossing his arms. "If you don't want to pitch in and clean, then get out then." He said to her. Nana stopped trembling and turned to face him again with a confused look. "Everyone pitches in, me, Yuka, Ben, Nyu, even Mayu. That's just how it works, so you need to start earning your keep or else.."

"So...I can stay here then?" Nana asked him with wide-eyes.

Kouta looekd up at her as his look became calmer. "Well, where else were you going to go?" He asked his tone now a bit softer.

"Well..it's just.." Nana began to say, as tears began to swell in her eyes.

_Meanwhile..._

"I think everything is back where it goes...I think." Mayu said as she, Nyu, and Nozomi were looking at the fixed up clock, but after 10 seconds...all the gears and cogs fell out. This prompted the three girls to lower their heads in shame.

"Maybe...we should try again later?" Nozomi suggested nervously.

"Ok..." Mayu said dejectedly.

"Nyu." Nyu said sadly. Just then, they all heard crying coming from the other room and went to follow it, they rant o the dining room to see Nana, crying at the table, with Yuka and Ben trying to comfort her. Mayu went over there as well.

"It's just...I"M SO HAPPY!" Nana shouted out as tears ran down her face. "BEFORE ALL OF THIS...I WAS COMPLETELY ALONE, NOT UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING! I ONLY HAD MY PAPA AND THAT WAS IT!" She said as he put her nads to her face as teas came from between her fingers. "Always alone...always...living in fear..."She said through her tears. Ben gently took her hands away as he gave her a smile.

"You aren't alone anymore...We're here for you Nana." Ben said as Nana was looking at him with awe, she started trembling a bit as more tears came down her face. And she dug her head deep into Bens's chest and cried some more. Ben was started for a moment but smiled as he hugged her back.

" _I feel...so happy!_ " Nana thought. " _Papa...wherever you are...I hope you can meet the amazing people I have met._ "

Nyu looked on and couldn't help it..but when she saw Ben hugging Nana, she pouted and felt a bit jealous.

* * *

_Diclonius Research Institute_

Shirakawa and Isobe were sitting down at a table eating some steamed fish.

"So it will take a day then for her to get ready?" Shirakawa asked.

"Yea...that's what I was told...they have to get her new arm together, and then make sure she is fully cooperative."

"Good." Shirakawa said as she took a sip of her tea.

Isobe was thinking aobut something that was bothering him for a long time. That boy at the graveyard...how did that boy turn into that robot thing? And how was he that ghost thing too? Maybe...could he be useful I someway to the Institute? Hmmm...

"You know...Kurama and I mentioned aobut that boy you know when we came back from Kamakuraatter we picked up Number 7 a few weeks ago right?"

"Yes, and what aobut him?" Shirakawa asked.

"Well...do you think that...well I don't know, but that kid...its obvious he must have some weird ability like that...maybe he could prove himself useful to the Institute."

Shirakawa was looking at him. OF course, Kurama told her aobut what he did, and she was also grateful as well. She then gave Isobe a glare. "We are not doing that, we agreed to keep it a secret from the Director and we will do that." She said as Isobe nodded again.

"If he gets caught," Shirakawa said. "that it's his sown fault." However, in her mind, she was pleading to herself.

" _Boy...if you really do exist...then please...get out of Kamakura while you can...please get out and save yourself before it's too late.._ " She pleaded mentally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we got introduced to the violent Number 35, or Mariko. Ande Nana has found a place to call home, will she be able to fit in? Time shall tell :)
> 
> Next chapter will be another slice of life, I don't know if you know, but did any of you see the OVA of the anime? It was aobut Nana getting settled into Maple Inn, if you want, go check it out on Youtube. Also, expect Nana and Mayu to see some more of Ben's alien forms ;) Also after the next chapter, is when things will begin to go down
> 
> Please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to her from you guys and always happy to answer any questions you might have :)
> 
> See you all next time :)


	17. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so sorry if I have been away for so long, I get so sidetracked and it makes me lose focus, so I'm sorry. So as we saw, Nana was struggling with Life a bit at Mapel Inn, but that is not all, we finally got a glimpse of Mariko or Number 35, Kakuzawa has ordered the girl to go hunt for both Nana and Lucy, things will start brewing very soon.
> 
> So this chapter is going to be another slice of life. If any of you have seen the OVA of the anime, then you might know what it is. And Ben will show some more of his forms to Mayu and Nana in this one. So anyway, sit back, grab popcorn and soda, and lets' watch :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

"AHHH, MAYU!" Nana cried out as she was holding onto a burning pan, Mayu took notice and ran towards her and turned off the stove. Now your possibly wondering what's going on? Well after the whole episode this morning, the others went out shopping for stuff, leaving Nana, Mayu, and Ben back at Maple Inn. Ben ran in the kitchen with a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?" He said to them. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern.

"Yea, we're alright...Nana though..." They turned to see Nana, whimpering and holding onto the pan, which was now holding something black and burnt. Ben could see that she was about to cry and went over to take the pan away. And he tried to console her.

"Hey, don't be upset Nana, not everyone can do it on their first try." He said as he set the pan down and took a good look at it, all the while sweating nervously. "I hope Yuka doesn't blame me for it though..."

"It's alright Ben," Mayu told him. "I can take care of it." She said as she took the pan from him. Nana then went over to the cutting board and got out a meat cleaver.

"Then I'll do this then!" The girl said brightly, both Ben and Mayu couldn't help but feel a bit nervous when they saw Nana with that knife, some things could go wrong...she could lose a finger, a thumb...or accidentally kill someone.

"W-well ok." Ben said a bit nervously, but still smiling a bit. "But be very careful though ok?" He said to her.

"Uh...Ben?" Mayu said to him. "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry squirt." He said to her.

"Yea, I can do this!" Nana said as she rubbed the lettuce on the cutting board. "you just need to cut it up, right?" she asked as she raised the cleaver and started to cut.

**BAM BAM**

Well...not cut, but more like slam the tool down as if she was beating it, and doing so made both the Omnitrix wielder and younger girl get nervous.

"Uh...Nana? You might want to..." Ben tried to explain, but didn't get to finish because as Nana tried to bam at the lettuce again, the cleaver slipped right out of Nana's hand, Nana stopped for a moment to look in her now cleverness hand.

"huh? Where did-?" But she then saw behind her looking at a wide-eyed Ben Tennyson, looking as if he saw a demon or a ghost, and the cleaver? It was about two inches away from his head, and his hands were right on the Omnitrix, Mayu saw as well and was trembling in fright, worried that her brother would have been killed.

After that little episode, Ben and Mayu consoled Nana.

"I was sure it was going to go better this time." she said as tears began to run down her face.

"It's alright Nana, just try to give it another shot." Mayu said to her with a smile.

"And please...don't do it so hard please..." Ben said nervously, with sweat going down his face a bit. Nana, however, kept on being sad.

"And I'm just useless?" she asked as she looked down to her feet, feeling ashamed for almost killing Ben.

"No!" Ben told her. "Not at all," He said to her. But Nana wasn't having any of it.

"If I can't do anything right, then I'll get kicked out of here..." Nana said gloomily. Ben, however, leaned forward a bit to get to her level.

"No, you won't get kicked out of here." He told her. "Not while I'm here. Look, there are plenty of other things around here besides getting dinner ready that you can do." He said to her,

"That's right." Mayu said to her with a smile. "No one expects you to do anything perfectly."

"Yea, I mean, not all of us are perfect you know?" Ben told her, prompting Nana to look at him with a small frown. She then saw Mayu going to the cupboard to try to get a bowl out, but found that it was high up. Nana's frown turned into one of a smile as her eyes sparkled, she then used her vectors to reach up and grab the bowl, which she then took

"Maybe my job can be getting things off of high areas." Nana said to them. Ben thought that it would be so simple, but still not enough for Kouta to approve. But Mayu..well.

"You can't!" She told her, this prompted both Nana and Ben to get a bit confused. "We need to keep your..." gifts" a secret from everyone else." She told her. It wasn't that she didn't like her "arms" it was just that it might spook everyone else out if they saw her doing it. "Besides, didn't you promise someone that you would be good?"

Nana's eyes went wide when Mayu said that. "Papa!" she said as tears went down her eyes. Ben sighed and walked out.

"I think Yuka said that she wanted all the twigs and stuff swept off outside." He said as he stepped out of the house and took a look. Yep, twigs, and other stuff all over the place...But this would be no problem for Ben, he adopted a smile and activated the Omnitrix. "Seems like a job for Water Hazard." He grinned as he slammed on the dial and was engulfed in bright light.

"WATER HAZARD!" He yelled as the light vanished. "Now let's hose these twigs down." He said as he raised both hands and sho tout warm water out of the portholes in his hands, the water getting rid of the twigs in an instant, but now the yard looked drenched. "Yelp, time to go Heatblast to make the ground dry quicker." Water Hazard said as he pushed on the dial on his chest and was engulfed in a bright light again.

Standing in Water Hazard's place was a large magma-based humanoid whose body was composed of yellow magma inside, while the outside of the body was covered by red-brown rocks, his feet were glowing like fire and were oval shared, and his hands were also glowing as well. Also, the Omnitrix dial was on his chest.

"HEATBLAST!" He shouted. the humanoid looked at the ground and smirked. "Alright, let's get all the water out of here before the others get back." He said, he raised his foot, and just walked around the water...just walked, it was easier and he didn't destroy anything by accident...like the forest back when he got the prototype... After a few minutes, the ground was beginning to get dry and Heatbalst turned back into Ben.

"Alright, I think we can call that a wrap." He said with a grin. He then went back inside as he put his shoes by the door. Ben had begun to know more about Japanese customs here, thanks to Yuka in Kouta of course. At first, he would leave his shoes on, but then Yuka would scold him about it. She didn't scold him too badly but just reminded him.

Ben then noticed a bowl on the table and gave a mischievous grin. Just what was he thinking?

_5 minutes later..._

Mayu and Nana were finished getting lunch ready for everyone. Nana was still upset a bit over screwing up lunch, but Mayu knew that she didn't do it on purpose. As they bought out everything and set them on the plate, Mayu noticed something odd. There was a bowl turned over.

"Huh?" The girl said with a raised eyebrow.

"What is it?" Nana asked her.

"That bowl...why is it turned over?" Mayu said while gesturing towards the bowl, Nana saw it and her eyes went wide.

"The bowls... don't walk, do they?" She asked in a nervous voice. Mayu gave her a small smile.

"No they don't, but I don't know how or why it's turned over." Mayu said as she went over to the bowl to fix it, but as she put her fingers on it and lifted it a bit, something suddenly flipped the bowl over.

"BOO!" Something shouted, causing both Mayu and Nana to scream in fright and back off, Wanta started to come in and bark wildly. The two girls were now huddled at the corner until something approached them

"Oh man, haha, that was perfect!" A small figure said, he was about four feet tall and resembled a frog, with grey skin and large green eyes that had rectangular pupils and horizontal eyelids. He was wearing a green and black jumpsuit with a black belt, had on black fingerless gloves, and the Omnitrix dial was on his back as well. This was Grey Matter, one of Ben's aliens who was a copy of the Galvan race.

Mayu and Nana breathed a bit and got a closer look at him.

"Ben?" Mayu asked in a surprised tone.

"Yea...well I usually go by Grey Matter in this form, but still yea. Sorry for the scare by the way. I just wanted to have some fun." He said with a smile. Nana gripped him and held him up close to her face.

"Wow...he's so tiny!" Nana said with her eyes as wide as saucers in amazement. "I never knew that aliens could be this cute looking!"

"Well, not all of them are pretty cute, to be honest." Grey Matter said sheepishly as Mayu took his from Nana, she also gave him a scolding look.

"Why did you scare us like that?"

"Sorry Mayu, as I said, I just wanted some fun." He said as he got out of her arms and got onto her head. "Now until everyone gets home, I'm going to rest on your head if that's alright?"

"Uh...sure...I guess." Mayu said, unsure of how to respond.

"Great!" The Galvan said as he then rested on top of her head and took a quick snooze. Mayu and Nana giggled a bit and sat down, making sure to be careful so they didn't knock Grey Matter off.

"I swear, he never ceases to amaze me!" Mayu said with a smile.

"I know! Ben's so nice!" Nana said with a grin but then pouted a bit. "But him doing that trick was not nice at all." She said.

"Are you going to hold that against me forever?" The Galvan asked her. Nana looked up and put her index finger on her chin.

"Hmmmmm..." She wondered. Grey Matter, however, scowled, and he knew that this was her way of getting back at him. "I will take it as a yes." He sighed as he hopped off of Mayu's head and pressed the dial on his back, and was engulfed in bright light, turning him back into Ben. Good thing he did too because when he did, they all heard the doors slide open.

"We're home!" Yuka called out.

"Nyu!" the girl said happily.

"Welcome back." Mayu said to them as Nana then bent her head forward in sadness, Ben sighed and rubbed her back in comfort. At this point, the rest of the Maple Inn family poured in.

"Something smells burnt, did you guys burn something?" Kouta asked as he sniffed around a bit.

"Well yea, but it was nothing major." Mayu said. Ben could see Nana putting her head down in shame even more.

"Ok then...sorry for leaving you and Ben here to do all the work." Yuka told her.

"Oh. it was fine, Nana also helped us a bit so it wasn't too bad." Mayu said as she was trying to build up Nana's confidence but from seeing her drop her head even more? It wasn't working. "So uh," Mayu said leaning in close to whisper to Yuka. "Did you guys get anything good?"

"Yep," The older girl said, this caused the two to giggle, prompting Nyu, Nana, and Ben to look confused

_5 minutes later..._

Everyone had sat down at the table to have their lunch, which consisted of egg, lettuce, and rice. While everyone was eating like normal, Nana was just shoveling everything into her mouth, she first took the whole egg and ate it, and then shoved the bowl of rice in her face and started to chew. Kouta, Yuka, Ben, and Nozomi looked on in perplex as Nana got up.

"Thanks, for the food." she simply said as she walked out to the kitchen.

"What's wrong with Nana?" Yuka asked, Nyu then shoved the whole egg and shoved it in her mouth. Mayu turned to face them with a small smile.

"Well..she's well..." She tried to say, but couldn't quite say it.

"Still trying to figure out what she's good at?" Kout asked as he took a sip of his tea.

"Now that you mention it, she does keep things to herself, like what happened earlier today. she doesn't talk about herself in any way." She then took a piece of her egg and ate it. "I honestly don't know what she would be good at."

"Well, we're still trying to figure it out." Ben said as he took a piece of rice out of his bowl.

"Right," Kouta said. "To be honest, there are some things I still want to ask her though."

"As I said, we shouldn't push it though." Ben told them.

"R-right," Nozomi said as she ate a piece of her egg.

Yuka then gasped out of happiness as the others looked at her. "I got an idea! Why don't we have her clean with Nyu?" she suggested. This prompted both Ben and Mayu to gasp in surprise.

"Yea, that's a good idea!" Kouta said,

"Nyu!" The horned girl said happily,

This prompted Ben to get nervous, after what happened in the graveyard and what happened a few nights ago, he knew that Nana would not want to work with Nyu, and if Kouta wanted her to, it would not go well.

"Well, here's the problem with that." Mayu said to them. "Nana doesn't think much of Nyu."

"Why not?" Nozomi asked her.

"Do you guys remember what happened a few nights ago?" Ben said to them. "Maybe she just wants to be away from her out of guilt." He knew that this was not true, but he had to think of something so that they didn't know about the graveyard battle.

"Well, we have to do something," Kouta said. "We have to break the ice a bit you know? And get them closer." He said.

"Closer?" Mayu and Nozomi said at the same time.

"Yea," the boy said with a smile. "All of us, closer." He said, Ben could notice the blush going on both girl's faces and sighed a bit as he drank his tea. He also noticed Yuka giving all three of them a jealous-looking glare.

"Bitten by the jealousy Beatle..." He thought in annoyance.

_20 minutes later..._

Ben was now in his room, folding up his futon. Everyone else was off doing their own thing while he was tying up his room a bit.

"Well. that should handle it." He said with a grin. All of a sudden, he heard a noise and went outside the door to investigate.

"Vrooooom!" He saw Nyu scrubbing the floor while running on it, almost as she was pushing something, Ben smiled a bit at her for her cuteness, but when he saw Nana he frowned a bit.

"Hey, Nana, why don't you help her?" He asked. Nana looked at him.

"Right...ok!" she said determinedly as she went after her. Bem saw her go off and was thinking to himself in private.

" _I need to sit Nana down and explain to her what's going on with Nyu._ " He thought, then his eyes went wide about another thought. " _Could Nana...know something? About that voice?_ " As he was pondering this, he heard some noise, so he looked to see Nyu and Nana, scrubbing the floor and running as well, now he would normally be fine by this, but he then saw that Nana was running to the stairs.

"Nana, look ou-"

"KYA!" Nana yelled a bit as she fell off the top and crashed onto the floor near the wall.

"Nana!" Ben said with worry as he ran out of his room and ran over to the steps, and Nyu was following as well. The two were right at Nana as Ben was helping her get up.

"Nana, are you alright?" He asked as he lifted her head up, when he did, he noticed that her nose was bleeding, possibly from the crash. "Ooh, let me go get some tissues." He told her as he left for a moment. Nyu looked down at Nana, who looked at her back and gave off a pout.

"I won't lose to you, Lucy." She said determinedly, prompting the other horned girl to give her a confused look.

_15 minutes later…_

Nyu and Nana were now scrubbing the windows, Nyu was having fun and making more vroom sounds, but Nana was having some difficulty. There was a particular bit of smudge on the window that was a big pain to get off and so she pressed harder on the glass, then harder, and then harder...until.

**SMASH**

Her whole arm went right through the glass and it caused her to lean forward, and this caused the whole door to break apart and crash to the ground, Nyu looked over at the damage and was worried that Nana was injured, but Nana got up and stared right at her with a big grin...but there was blood going down her head.

"Guess the doors clean now." she said triumphantly. Nyu looked on with worry until they heard some footprints approaching.

"What happened?" Yuka asked, but when she saw Nana she became concerned. "Nana, what happened to you?"

"It's fine, I'm alright." she tried to say, but Yuka wasn't having any of it.

"You don't look alright to me, Come on, let's get you cleaned up ok?" She said as she helped Nana on her feet. "Be careful so you don't step on the glass ok?" As she was helping Nana to the door. She turned to face Nyu. "Nyu, can you go get Ben and help clean this up? Then we can have snacks."

"Nyu!" She said as she went inside to get Ben, luckily not stepping on any broken glass.

" _Snacks?_ " Nana thought

_10 minutes later…_

Everyone (sans Mayu) was now sitting down at the table, Ben and Nyu were able to clean up the glass and he threw the bag away.

"So much glass…." He moaned in dread as he put his head on the table.

Nana looked at him and felt ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry Ben…" She said in a depressed tone.

"*Sigh* Don't worry Nana, it wasn't your fault." Ben said while giving her a small smile. "Accidents will happen."

"Ok then…." She said, still unsure about what she had done. At this point, Mayu was now coming out and bringing out a big bowl of cookies that were shaped like birds. And at that point, Nyu and Nana immediately lost it.

"Wow!" Nana said as she and Nyu grabbed and hugged each other in glee. "These things, they look just like birds!" She said as the two-horned girls then grabbed and hugged Mayu. "Thank's Mayu!" Nana said.

"Uh...yea…" Mayu said, a bit flustered. The others were giving out smiles and Ben was smiling as well. If all goes well, this day could turn out alright possibly.

Yuka turned towards the others and smiled. "I never would have guessed that cookies would make them this happy before."

Kouta smiled back. "Heck, maybe all horned girls react like this to desert."

"How is that relevant?" Ben asked as he took a cookie and took a bite of it. "Delicious, these tastes just like graham crackers." He thought.

"I have to agree with Ben a bit." Nozomi said with a small smile.

"I mean, they are shaped like cute little birds, it almost makes me not want to eat them, don't you all think so too?" Nana asked as she and Nyu were still admiring the cookies that were laid out right in front of them.

"But darn it, I'm hungry. I'm sorry little birds." Nana said as she and Nyu both took one and began to nibble on them. Ben saw them and couldn't help but find them cute, with the way they are nibbling at the cookies, kinda like chipmunks.

"Amazing!" Nana said as she started blushing. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted."

"Yummy!" Nyu said as she took her cookie out of her mouth her blush going on her face.

"I know, it's so sweet and crunchy!" Nana said as she continued to nibble at the cookie. Making some of the older guests smile warmly.

"Oh yea, so what about Nana's chores?" Yuka asked as she was saying this, Ben noticed Kouta reaching for a bad right behind Yuka's' chair.

"I hate it!" Nana said, prompting everyone (sans Nyu, who was still eating her cookie) to look at her.

"Well, yea, but you did some good work though." Ben said trying to cheer her up, but Nana wasn't having any of it.

"I hate it!" She said to him, Kouta then looked at her a bit.

"Well you can at least clean though? Right?" He asked her. "Even Nyu does it to help out."

Nana felt really offended when he said that. And Ben was getting pretty worried. "This has nothing to do with it." Nana said as she turned away a bit. "I just can't stand cleaning, that's all."

"Nana!" Kouta said in a stern voice. "You shouldn't be selfish. Like I said before, you are not a guest like Nozomi. People who don't help clean can't stay."

"I never even asked you to let me stay here in the first place, did I?" Nana said in a sassy voice as she turned away again.

"Hey! Listen, Dammit!" Kouta angrily said as he was about to get up but Yuka and Ben were able to stop him before things escalated even further.

"Hey, relax Kouta…" Yuka said in a soft voice.

"Yeah dude, just relax." Ben said and he turned to face Nana. "You know Nana, if you don't like cleaning, then maybe we can think of something else that you can do."

"I agree with Ben," Yuka said.

"I-I'm sure there might be something I can teach you something...if you want to." Nozomi said a bit shyly, like before.

But Nana was just too angry to even acknowledge them. She got up from the table and stormed off. "Forget it!" She said as she left.

"Nana wait!" Mayu tried to call out to her, but the girl was already gone.

" _*sigh* What else can go wrong?_ " Ben thought as he took a bite out of another cookie and then got up. "I'm going to go follow, her, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid or something." He said to them all.

"You don't want any of us to come with you?" Yuka asked him with concern.

"No, it's alright, I can handle it." Ben said as he went to the front door. As he was about to leave he felt someone grab his hand, he turned around to see Nyu, giving him a pleading look. "Nyu, don't worry. I won't be gone long."

"Ben come back soon?" She asked him.

"Yes, I'll be back soon." He said with a smile as he got on his shoes and walked out of the house. He walked a far away from the house before looking at the Omnitrix. "Probably not, Nana just left the house so she couldn't have gone too far." He said as he continued to walk out and went down the street.

After about 10 minutes he found Nana among the wall and sighed a bit as he walked over to her.

"Nana!" He called out to her, Nana saw him and pouted as she turned away.

"Go away Ben." She said,

Ben sighed a bit. "Come on Nana," He said to her.

"No!" She said, "I knew it, I'm not cut out for living with you people at all!" He said. "And Lucy is the problem as well, if she wasn't there it would be perfect."

Ben sighed once again. "Nana...Nyu..well...Lucy...is-"

"And besides," she interrupted him. "I figured that you would be on my side, she tried to attack you that one day as well right?" She asked him,

" I know," Ben said to her as he sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. "Look, you don't understand...Lucy...or Nyu I guess….her life was….horrible."

Nana then gave him a questionable look. "What do you mean?"

"It…*sigh* it's a really long story, a story that I do not want to explain...at least not right now...because after what I saw...I can't even go into detail." Ben said as he was trembling a bit. The memories he saw still shocked and frightened him a bit.

Nana looked over and saw how trembling Ben was and she immediately felt bad for acting out. "Ben, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to make you mad."

"I'm not mad Nana, it's just….look, I know you can't trust Nyu right now, especially after what happened last time. But try to at least be civil with her, ok?"

Nana was wondering about this for a moment, sure it would be better if Nyu or Lucy was not there with them. But she then remembered that Ben saved her last time. Who knows? If things go south again, then he can protect her again.

"But...what if she attacks again?" Nana asked him. Ben narrowed his eyes at her.

"I will not let her, I promise you that. I will protect everyone in the house, even you. That's a promise." He said to her.

Nana gave him a small smile. "Ok then...I'll try to be civil, whatever that means.

Ben chuckled a bit and ruffled her hair. "Come on, let's head home ok?"

"Alright!" She said with a grin as she and Ben began to head home. Nana looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, Ben? Mayu mentioned to me that you are her brother or something, are you really related to her?"

"Well, not really. You see, Siblings tend to come from the same parents, I am not Mayu's actual brother, but ever since I have been here, she has become something like a little sister to me. Everyone has, even though I have been here for a short time."

Nana looked at him and down while shuffling a bit. "Hey, Ben?"

"Hmm?"

Nana looked at him while giving a nervous frown. "Would….you consider me? Your sibling too?" She asked. "Even though we aren't related?"

Ben looked at her and smiled. "Of course."

Nana went up to Ben and grabbed his hands. "Really? You mean it?"

"Mmmhm, now come on little sis, let's' get back to the house." He said, all the while Nana immediately went to his side and held onto his arm. "Just like Nyu." He thought as they continued walking.

As they were laking back, Nana couldn't help but think about what the and that guy Bando said. Could. she really told him about Nyu? I mean, sure she had hurt her...but Ben told her about her life going downhill….could she really do it? She wondered

( _Eyecatch of Water Hazard spraying water at Mayu and Nana, who are running and giggling_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Nyu (with a happy face) and Lucy (with a solemn face), back to back, while the DNA Voice stands in the middle (who had a wicked malicious_ face))

_Maple Inn_

Ben and Nana both arrived back at Maple Inn, but before they went inside. Ben looked at Nana again.

"Do you promise to be at least civil with her? You don't have to like her, but at least be a bit civil with her, alright?"

"Ok, but Ben...when you do, could you tell me..what happened to her? To make her….into a killer?"

Ben sighed a bit, it's not that he didn't want to, but he was just so nervous. "Alright, but you need to promise me not to tell anyone else."

"Ok...I promise." She said to him, Ben slid the door open and the two went inside.

"NYU!" The horned girl said as she ran towards them and hugged them both.

"Woah, easy Nyu." Ben said as Nana looked pretty startled a bit. Mayu then walked in.

"Welcome back," She told them. "Nyu was so worried, you just left and we had no idea where you went. Good thing Ben found you." She said with a smile.

"R-right." Nana said as she then looked at Nyu, who was giving both her and Ben an adorable smile while she was blushing.

"Dammit Nyu, stop being so cute!" Ben thought mentally

_A few moments later…_

Nana was sitting at the table with Kouta and Yuka. Kouta was giving her a solemn look.

"I overacted as well, I'm sorry." He said to her in a soft tone. But Nana shook her head.

"No, it's my fault. I was being selfish and petty, I promise that I'll help clean and other stuff." Nana said to him. Causing him and Yuka to smile at her.

"And Mayu and I can show her how to do things, just in case." Ben told them.

"Thank you Ben." Yuka told him with a smile on her face.

"Meh, all in a day's work I guess." He said while rubbing his head sheepishly, causing the girls to giggle a bit and Kouta to roll his eyes as he smirked a bit.

15 minutes had gone by and everything was going back to normal again. Nozomi told them that she had to go home for the day and that she would be back tomorrow.

"Be careful ok?" Yuka told her as Nozomi headed for the door.

"I will!" She said as she began to leave, along the way, she saw Ben standing by the door. "Oh, hey Ben…" She said with a small smile.

"Hey Nozomi, heading home for the day huh?"

"Yea…" She said with her looking down a bit. Ben then placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Remember if you need help standing up to your father, I'll come with you to your house, alright?" He asked her.

Nozomi looked at him and smiled. "R-right, thank you." She said with a smile as she then headed for the door. And as she was about to leave, she turned back to face Ben. "Thank you Ben, for being kind to me, you and everyone else here."

"No problem Nozomi," Ben said with a grin. The girl nodded back and she left the house. Ben sighed with a smile on his face, so far, this day was a bit stressful, but hopefully, the rest of the day will go by swimmingly.

"Nyu!" Ben turned to see Nyu coming up to him and grabbing his arm.

"What is it Nyu?"

"Outside!" She said pointing to the door. "Go Outside!" She said with a big grin on her face.

"Huh? What do you-"

"Uh...Ben?" Nana said as she was coming up to him. "I thought about taking Nyu for a walk, and I was wondering if you would maybe possibly come with us?" She asked him with a hopeful tone.

"Huh? Why do you need me to go with you?" Ben asked. It wasn't that he was against the idea, but he was just curious about why Nana wanted him to come with them.

"Well, I mean. Due to our horns….maybe you can come with us to protect us?" She asked.

"Well...she does have a point." Ben thought. For all he knew, if people saw the horns, there might be some big problems, and Ben did not want that to happen. "Alright then, let me go get my jacket and I'll meet you back here." He said,

"Yayy!" Nyu said as she hugged Ben tightly, causing him to wheeze.

"Nyu….choking...can't breath…" He said, prompting Nana to giggle a bit.

* * *

_Streets_

The three were walking around for a bit. Ben had told the others about the walk and allowed them to go. Ben was able to get Nyu a small hat for her to wear so that she could hide her horns, and Nana had her ribbon in her hair so she was fine.

As she was walking with them. Nana was thinking about something….maybe this could be her chance! She could turn Lucy to that Bando person, and Papa would finally be happy with her...but what would the others of Maple Inn say?

Also, what would happen to her relationship with Ben? Ben would possibly hate her and never speak to her again. Sure Ben wanted Nana to be at least civil with her….but after what Lucy did to her, could she?

"Oh, what do I do?" Nana thought. Meanwhile, Ben was looking up to see that the sky was turning grey a bit.

"Hey girls, we should head back soon! It looks like it will rain." Ben told them. The two girls nodded their heads as they continued walking. Nana, however, was walking all the way in the back. She was looking ahead as she was narrowing her eyes at Lucy.

"If I could just do it…" She thought as her vectors came out and were ready to attack. "Then Papa would finally-"

"Nyu!" Nana's thoughts were interrupted as Nyu stopped and took a cookie out of her jacket and handed it to her.

"Wh-is that..for me?" Nana asked as her vectors were disappearing. Nyu nodded her head in agreement. Ben saw this and smiled a bit.

"Seems like Nyu is trying to apologize, that or just wants to share it to be your friend, right Nyu?"

"Yes!" She said with a smile as she looked at Nana again. Nana looked at the cookie and was approaching a bit, but then she stopped and narrowed her eyes at Nyu.

"Yeah right! Like I want-NYAA!" She then slipped on the water on the ground and fell on her back. This made Ben and Nyu worried.

"Nana, are you ok?" He asked her as he was starting to approach her, and Nyu was already running a bit, Ben saw the water on the ground and tried to warn Nyu. but the girl unfortunately already slipped and fell on her back as well.

"Nyu!" Ben called out with worry, Nana had already gotten up and they both went towards the girl, who was now unconscious.

"Ben!" Nana said as she got behind Ben. "She might turn again! What do we do?!" Nana asked in a frightened voice.

"Nana, calm down." Ben said as he rubbed her head gently. "As I said, I will not let her do anything to you, ok?" Nana was a bit hesitant for a moment but nodded her head. Ben looked up to see that it was about to rain and judging from the booming noise, it might be a heavy one as well.

"Nana, we got to head back to the house, now this form I am about to change into...dodon't be frightened, ok?"

"Oh...ok," Nana said to him. Ben nodded and activated his Omnitrix again and switched to the alien he wanted to use. "Alright, time to go Jet Ray again." He said as he hit the dial and was engulfed in bright light.

"Ok Nana," Jey Ray said when the light diminished. "Put Nyu on my back and you climb on as well."

"Uh..ok." She said, really spooked a bit by his appearance, she was able to get Nyu up and put her on Jet Rays back. And she did the same.

"Alright, here we go, hold on tight." He said as he took off into the sky, all the while Nana was screaming a bit.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Jet Ray had landed in front of the house, good thing too because the storm was getting a bit worse.

"Phew, we got back, you alright Nana?" He asked, but if you saw her, not really. She was trembling a bit and her eyes were as wide as saucers, plus her hair was a bit frazzled. Jet Ray took one look at her and blushed a bit. "Oh...sorry." He said sheepishly.

After Nana calmed down a bit, she got Nyu off of Jet Ray, and he pushed on the dial to turn back into Ben.

"Alright, now let's get inside before we get even wetter." He said as he and Nana both held onto Nyu and went inside the house. As they were getting their shoes off. They were approached by Yuka.

"About time you guys got home." She said, but when she saw Nyu unconscious she was worried. "What happened to Nyu?"

"She's fine," Ben said. "She just fell on the ground and is unconscious, just tell Kouta to get a warm washcloth for her alright?"

"Ok then…" Yuka said as she went into the kitchen, all the while Ben and Nana were getting Nyu to her room and into her futon.

_5 minutes later…_

Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, Ben, and Nana were in Nyu's room, the cloth on her and everyone watching with worry.

"Is she running a fever again?" Yuka asked as Kouta put his hand on her forehead.

"Yea…" He said, "How does this keep on happening?" He wondered.

"I think I might have a reason." Ben said. "I'm wondering if she is possibly having a bad dream or something. And those dreams are possibly making her go under stress, thus making her get a fever. But that's just my thought."

Ben did believe this, but at the same time, he is wondering if that voice might also be another reason for it.

"That kinda makes sense." Yuka said with her hand on her chin. "What should we do though?"

"I say we let her get some rest," Ben said to them. "Hopefully she will wake up very soon."

"Well, if you're sure." Mayu said as she was about to get up, along with everyone else. As they were walking out the door. Ben saw Nana still by her. "Nana, you coming?"

"Huh? Oh..I think I'll just wait a bit." She said to him, Ben was suspicious but relented. As they walked out and left the two girls alone, Ben was still not feeling too good about Nana being alone with Nyu, or Lucy.

"Mayu!" Ben called out to the younger girl. "Can you come here real quick?" He asked. Mayu nodded and came towards him.

"What is it Ben?" She asked.

"Can you stay in there with Nana and Nyu? Just make sure one of them doesn't do anything stupid or soemthing?"

"Sure." She said with a small smile and she went in there with her.

Ben went into the dining room and was looking out into the rain and thinking.

"If Nyu is having another dream...maybe I should check it out...just in case." He thought as he then got up and walked to the kitchen, where Yuka and Kouta were at. "I'm going to go to Nyu's room, just to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Ok Ben," Yuka said. Ben nodded and walked off. Kouta was looking back at him and just couldn't help but feel jealous of him, so far Nyu and Ben have been getting a bit closer and Kouta didn't like it. He didn't hate Ben by any means, but still though.

"Are you alright Kouta?" Yuka asked as she saw him tremble a bit.

"Huh? Oh, yea..I'm alright." He said.

Ben had gone back into the room to find Mayu and Nana sitting by Nyu, who was snow breathing a bit heavily.

"Alright," He said as they looked at him. "Time to go in." He said as he scrolled through the Omnitrix and hit the dial when the light vanished he was Pesky Dust once again.

"Alright- _prrrr_ -let's see what else I can- _prrrr_ -find now." He said as he then turned into a ball of light and went inside Nyu's body, all Mayu and Nana could say?"

"Oh my gosh...he looked so adorable!" Mayu said with a blushing face.

"I know…" Nana said, whose face was still blushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowzas, ok, so originally I was going to include the dream in this chapter, but after going back and rereading it, I felt like separating it into its own separate chapter. Next time Ben will discover moe on Nyu's past as she attempts to make a second attempt at friendship. And to those of you who read the manga..you know it...well better not spoil anything.
> 
> Anyways, as always. Please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and always happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	18. Another Tearful and Painful Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, so as you know, Ben is once again going into Lucy's mind, this time to get a glimpse of another flashback to her childhood, what other secrets will he discover? Let's see and find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Flashback/Street_

Pesky Dust found himself on a sidewalk. It was night time as well. And a lone woman was walking down a street while eating a rice ball.

" _Hmmm? What's going-prrrr-on?_ " He thought as he saw the woman smiling at complimenting how yummy the food she had was tasty. She then stopped and looked to the side of her, Pesky Dust turned and saw a familiar girl with pink hair, wearing a sweater, and a hat. It was Nyu!

"Nyu?" The Nemuian said with wide eyes. She was not the same little girl he saw in the last memory. In her, she looked like she had grown up a bit. Her hair was also longer as well.

" _It's dangerous to be alone at night._ " the woman thought, a thought that Pesky Dust heard. And if he knew, this was not going to end well. The woman turned towards Nyu.

"Hey Ki-" But she didn't get to finish because Nyu's arms went right for the woman's chest, where the heart was and went inside. The woman dropped her treat, coughed out some blood and fell to the ground, dead.

Pesky Dust was shocked, he then turned over to Nyu. with an angry look. "Nyu! Why would you do that? For god-"

"Kill more, kill more." The voice said in her head, Pesky Dust heard and gripped his hands tightly at hearing it.

"Damn that voice- _prrrr_ -DAMN IT TO HELL!" He shouted angrily. As he was fuming he heard Nyu's voice.

"How long ago has it been?" She said, with Pesky Dust looking at her. "Once I wouldn't oppose the voice anymore...I no longer had any regrets about killing humans." She said with a frown on her face.

Pesky Dust was angry. He knew that the Voice was influencing her, but he was angry at Nyu for allowing it to happen….well. It wasn't technically her fault, the voice was simply influencing her due to the hardships she was experiencing. He was hoping that Paradox would come to find him again, and let him know about the device Ben talked about.

"I wonder...if I keep killing, then would I have a place to call home?" She asked solemnly as she put her head down in shame. Pesky Dust looked down as well and shook his head, while tears were going down the face as well.

* * *

_Flashback/Playground_

The scene changed again and Pesky Dust found himself in a playground, it was a new day and he saw Nyu sitting alone on a swing. The Nemuina flew over and gave a sad frown.

"Kouta," She said. "You're probably living in Hokkaido now…" She said as she looked down, with Pesky Dust doing the same.

"Are you sure?" Nyu and Pesky Dust turn to see three girls walking by. From what Pesky Dust is seeing, they must be in middle school, due to their outfits. Nyu looked on and made a face that spoke of both envy, and sadness.

"I'm always alone.." she said. "I can't have a friend here. The world..is only for humans. " She said as she put her hat down even further.

Pesky Dust sighed a bit as he looked on at her with him shaking his head and sighing heavily. But then something happened.

**BAM**

Something came right at Nyu's face and slammed right into her, causing her to fall right on her back to the ground and off the swing. Pesky Dust was shocked, that ball came out of nowhere.

"Nyu!" He called out with worry as he flew down to make sure she was alright. She was, but unfortunately, she got hurt, and she was hurting a bit much, she put her hands to her face and started to cry. Pesky Dust felt bad, had this been real, he would have been right there to calm her down.

"Excuse me…" Pesky Dust turned to see a small boy with a soccer ball in his hands, and Nyu stopped crying for a moment and looked at the boy. "I just wanted to say sorry for accidentally kicking the ball at you." He said, he then turned around and ran back to the field.

Pesky Dust gave the boy a small frown, sure he apologized, but he could have at least stayed a few more seconds to make sure she was alright. But still...he apologized and that was ok….sorta.

"So humans…." Nyu said as Pesky Dust saw the arms going out of her. "Must die..after all."

"Nyu, don't!" Pesky Dust said to her in a worried voice.

"Excuse me?" A voice said, this prompted the arms to go away and Pesky Dust and Nyu turned to face the source of the voice. The voice belonged to a girl who looked around Nyu's height and age at the time. She also had on one of those sailor suit-style school uniforms on, although it was more dark-colored than Nozomi's bright colored one.

"Are you ok?" She asked Nyu, she then noticed the bit of blood going down Nyu's nose and looked shocked. "Oh, dear!" She said as she got out a tissue from her pocket. "Here, take this." she said.

"It-it's fine…" Nyu said in a startled voice as she was getting up.

"But your nose is bleeding through." the girl said to Nyu. "And your clothes will get dirty."

Pesky Dust was giving off a small smile. This girl came over and helped out Nyu, although another part of him was worried, thinking that this girl would get killed.

"Why don't you come over to my house, and we can treat that nose a little bit better. It's right around the corner here." She said with a smile.

All Pesky Dust and Nyu could think of was this…

"...Eh?"

* * *

_Flashback/Apartment_

Pesky Dust found himself in a new setting, this time it was an apartment complex. He then saw both Nyu and the girl from the park kneeling down in the girl's living room, with the girl putting a wet tissue in Nyu's nose to stop the bleeding.

"There we go. Does that feel better?" The girl asked. "That must have hurt, again I'm sorry. The kids around here are always naughty, they break my windows often sometimes with those balls of theirs."

"She does have a point." Pesky Dust thought. Sometimes kids will do those kinds of things, but it's not like it's their fault. They just need better control of their kicks or play someplace where the ball won't go too far at.

Nyu was listening to the girl in silence, almost as if she was listening. At that point, Nyu got up and brushed the dirt off of her legs.

"I'll just leave now." Nyu said as she was walking to the door. "Sorry for the trouble."

The girl, however, looked confused and surprised. "But why though?" She asked. "I wanted to talk to you a little bit more." She said. Nyu stopped when she heard her say that. Pesky Dust could see her trembling a bit and frowned after what happened with Kouta, he assumed that Nyu had some kind of trauma from it.

"I can't….make human friends." She whispered, low enough so that the girl couldn't hear. Pesky Dust frowned at that. Dammit, why was he not there to comfort her? And why did Kouta have to lie to her so much? It just wasn't fair that she was treated fairly just because of her horns.

"But wait!" Pesky Dust's thoughts were interrupted by the girl, who called out again, and it seems that her call snapped Nyu out of the thoughts as well. "I kinda wanted to ask you something…" She said nervously. "I wanted to know if...maybe, you could be a model for my picture?"

….

"..EH?!" Nyu asked with her eyes going wide. Pesky Dust looked surprised, never did he see Nyu like this before, nor would he ever hear a question like that. But he also gave a small smile, for this girl was given Nyu some kindness.

"B-but why?" Nyu asked, stammering a bit from the sudden question. "I mean, you and I just met and all…"

"Well...it wasn't that sudden, look." She said as she took out her sketchbook, flipped open a page and showed her. Pesky Dust flew over to see the sketch as well. It was a picture of Nyu sitting on a bench at the park nearby.

"Such amazing- _prrrr_ -artwork." the Nemuian chirped brightly. This girl got the details nice and done, the shading was perfect, and it captured Nyu's face.

"I-is that...me?" Nyu asked, shocked that someone drew her like that. She just couldn't believe how amazing and detailed the picture really was.

"I'm sorry," the girl said as she was twirling her index fingers. "I'm just crazy for drawing things….and I see you sitting on that bench all the time at the park from my window. And You looked really beautiful that day so I drew a sketch of you."

" _That was pretty nice of her._ " Pesky Dust thought " _Although-prrrr-she should have asked for permission first though-prrrr-_." Pesky Dust was not mad about it, but was very conscious about it. For all he knew, this girl could have been anybody, a perverted man or something. So he was conscious about it.

"Also, I was thinking about becoming your new friend," she said with a smile. The Nemuian gave out a wide-eyed look at the girl for her question. This girl just asked to be friends with Nyu? But wait...last time it happened though..it didn't go so well.

"I mean when I saw you for the first time, I was nervous so I didn't do it, but since you're here now. I feel much better telling you face-to-face." The girl said with a smile.

"What? But-" Nyu said in a stunned tone of voice, but as she was about to finish, the door to the house slid open, and the two girls looked up to see how it was. One was a man who looked to be around his late 20's or early 30's. He had on a black dress shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. He also had stubble on his chin and wore beads around his neck, next to him was a woman around his age, she looked like she had blond hair and wore a lavender trench coat and black stilettos. And she was smoking a cigarette.

"Fa-father." The girl said with a voice that was a mix of shock and fear. Pesky Dust saw the guy and did not have a good feeling about this.

The father looked down at his daughter and glared at her. "Why're you screwing around? You should be at your job!" He said, his voice was dripping of anger and menace.

"Th-the shop w-was closed today!" The daughter said in fright, all the while trembling a bit. The father, however, looked like he didn't want to hear it, and was about to snap at her again until his eyes narrowed down at the sketchbook she had on her.

"So...you've been doodling again?" He asked, the girl trembling and shaking, too scared to move. Pesky Dust was narrowing his eyes at the man. But what came next?

**SLAP**

The father slapped his daughter right across the face, so hard that she went tumbling to the floor. This made both Nyu and Pesky Dust shocked and horrified.

"So what you're saying...is that I'm wrong?" the father asked in a menacing voice, a voice that Pesky Dust could compare to Vilgax's, except not raspy though. The father aggressively grabbed his daughter by the collar and got right up in her face.

"YOUR MOTHER THREW YOU AWAY, YOU GOT IT!?" He yelled at her, her nose was dripping with blood, and she was just trembling and shaking. Pesky Dust unfortunately could only watch, as this was a dream. He wanted to do nothing more but go Rath and beat this guy senseless.

"And if you don't like it here….then you can CLEAR THE FUCK OUT, RIGHT NOW!" He yelled as she was trembling again, and tears were going down her face. "If you have time for scribbling, then you should just go sell your body or whatever!" This made the Nemuian dangerously glare at the man. "But you either own the dough? **OR GET THE FUCK OUT NOW!** " He roared as he raised his hand and was about to hit her again.

As his arm was going down for the hit, it stopped suddenly, the father turned to see what happened and noticed that a hand was grabbing his arm, and he turned to see Nyu. Her eyes glaring daggers at him.

"Enough…" Nyu said in a soft but deadly voice, a voice that Pesky Dust was a bit terrified off. This was not going to end well for anyone. And he was worried. Worried for Nyu, and worried about the others in the house.

"Oh?" The man said in a low dangerous voice. And he suddenly grabbed Nyu by the collar, but Pesky Dust saw the look on her face and it was totally calm….a bit too calm. "You think I won't hit you just because you're some outside brat?" He asked her.

Nyu, however, glared at him even further. "You know," She said. "Now is when I would normally kill you….but out of respect to your daughter...I'll just let you off with a bearing." She said.

Pesky Dust was surprised, did Nyu actually agree to only knock him out? He had to smile at that, at least...somehow, she was learning the killing was not the answer to everything...at least, he was hoping that she was learning.

"YOU IDIOT!" The father yelled as he tried to hit her in the face, causing Pesky Dust to narrow his eyes at the man. But then, something happened.

"Wh-what?" the man said as he looked at his fist to find that the girl had already caught it. With a simple smirk, Nyu threw the father right into the ceiling. Causing the whole house to shake.

"Holy hell, Nyu…!" The Nemuian said with awe. Even more awed when the father came back and crashed into the ground. He wasn't seriously hurt, possibly only a sprained back and a bloody nose. The father looked up to see Nyu, carrying Aiko to the door.

She then looked back and scowled at him. "If you're an adult...then you need to fix your judgment a bit more." She said as she left through the door.

"Yea!" Pesky Dust said as he blew a raspberry at the father.

* * *

_Park_

The scene changed again and they were all back in the park, Pesky Dust flew over to the girl, Aiko was now in Nyu's lap and Nyu was applying some cool towel over her head. This little act of kindness was making the Nemuian smile. Hopefully, if this can go on for much longer than maybe Nyu could see that some humans weren't so bad after all...but why does he feel another feeling that something is not going to go right though?

"Oh, you're awake. Nyu said to Aiko, who then slowly got up and rubbed her eyes.

"Yes...thank you." She said, and then she looked down. Nyu looked over with concern on her face.

"Does he always do that to you?" She asked. Aiko was silent for a moment, and when Nyu noticed she was a bit worried. "Does she?" she asked again. This time this prompted Aiko to nod her head in agreement. "Why do you put up with it then? Why don't you stand up for yourself?"

" _Yea, that's-prrrr-what I want to know as-prrrr-well._ " Pesky Dust thought. He noticed that Aiko was trembling a bit as tears were starting to appear from the corner of her eyes.

"Because...I have nowhere else to go…. and I'm just so weak...I can't do anything." she said as she sniffed a bit. Pesky Dust wished she could give her a tissue and a soothing hug. "And besides...I believe that one day..my mom will come back for me." She said,

"Your mom?" Nyu asked, promoting Aiko to nod her head. "But that woman at the house…"

"No, that was just my father's lover." She said with some bitterness in her voice, Pesky Dust could see that she did not like the woman at all, and he didn't blame her, that woman just reeks of arrogance and shallowness.

"Before she left...my real mother told me that she would try to become a great artist. And as soon as I was born, she left us to move aboard...that's why I hardly remember her." she said all of this with sadness.

Pesky Dust was upset and pissed. He was pissed that this woman left her child, her newborn nonetheless, to go chase for her dream and leave her daughter and husband here alone. And worse the guy is beating up his daughter….could it be? That the father is upset as well, and he is just depressed?

Well, that didn't matter, even if he is, it does not excuse him into beating up his own child over this. If he was a real man then he would not be hitting her, this brought back memories to when Nozomi told him about her abusive dad. The thought just made the Nemuian's fist to tighten.

"From what I heard she won a big reward over there, and everything is going fine and smoothly for her. But father just doesn't get it though...so every time he sees me drawing, she gets mad at me."

The scene changed and Pesky Dust noticed Aiko with her mother and father.

"Maki," the mother said. "Time to go home now sweetie." She said in a sweet voice, And as Pesky Dust was smiling at this, he heard Aiko's voice.

"I can cope with my father's beatings...because I know that one day. Mother will come back...and all three of us can live together once again well enough…" Her voice said.

Pesky Dust noticed Aiko, and her parents walking into the distance and a tear came down his eyes. All this girl really wanted was to have a loving family, and she thinks that it will happen someday. All Pesky Dust could do was hope for that day to come….he hoped.

The scene changed again and the Nemuian found himself back in the park with the two girls.

"I know, it's stupid right?" Aiko asked. "My mother abandoned me when I was born….and yet, I still long for her…" she said solemnly.

"Aiko…" Pesky Dust said through a saddened voice. He didn't think that it was stupid, not at all. But he was a bit hesitant about it though, he was worried that Aiko was just getting her hopes up for something that might not happen. But still, he smiled and hoped that her mother would come back soon.

But still, it didn't excuse the father for what he did though...if he truly was sad about his wife leaving, he should have done something different, rather than just beat on his daughter…

"I can't understand those feelings." Nyu's voice said as Pesky Dust heard it.

"Of course she wouldn't." Pesky Dust said. "She doesn't know- _prrrr_ -who her parents are…"

"So..your mother won't ever return to Japan anymore?" Nyu asked Aiko, this prompted the girl to look up.

"You know...She's actually returning to Japan right now." She said as she looked on.

…..

…..

"NANI?" Nyu and Pesky Dust both exclaimed at the same time in shock.

Aiko looked over at Nyu and nodded her head while giving her a small smile. "My mother is holding an exhibition at a department store nearby." She began explaining. "I think it might be tomorrow….so I think she is already here, in Japan."

Pesky Dust was looking at her with awe, her mother was actually here? That was awesome, then hopefully she can go to her and see how much she grew up.

"You know...I wanted to meet her so much, and now that she is at a place nearby...I can finally meet her." Aiko said. Nyu looked at her and gave a determined look.

"Then go then," She said to her. "Go and meet her soon!" She said to her, Pesky dust was smiling at seeing that You wanted this girl to go right now and see her mother. Instead of killing her, she is trying to get her to go meet her mother.

Aiko, however, put her head down though…" I can't go...I'm afraid, and also I am sure that I'll cause trouble…"

"What are you talking about?" Nyu asked her. "You were the one she threw away though. So you can go and get angry."

Pesky Dust didn't really approve of that plan, if Aiko went to see her mother while angry, she might say something that the girl might end up regretting. And it would go downhill from there on out.

"Just be courageous." Nyu told her softly. "Time will not heal regrets over things that are left unsaid."

"You know…" Aiko began. "I made something for her...when I was younger. I thought about handing it to her when I got a chance to meet her again….and I've been keeping it a secret from my father because he would most likely find it and destroy it."

Pesky Dust shield at hearing her say this. Aiko made a gift for her mother? Such a sweet thing to do.

"But now, I guess I'll have to give it to her then won't I?" Aiko said brightly. Making both Nyu and Pesky Dust to smile at her. This girl made her decision, and she was going to go see her mother. Screw what her father thought, she was going to go see her.

"I was wondering…''Aiko said nervously while pressing her index fingers together. "Would you like to go together tomorrow?" She asked nervously.

Pesky Dust widened his eyes, did she really ask Nyu to go? While he was happy to see Nyu make another attempt at being friends with her, but a part of him was worried, after what he saw with Kouta...it might not end well...and something in his small gut told him so…

"Yes...I'd love to." Nyu said. Pesky Dust sighed in relief at hearing her say this

"Great!" Aiko said as she was getting up. "Then I'll see you tomorrow then!" She said as she began to go back to her apartment but not before turning back around. "I'm really glad I met you today!"

As Aiko was running back to her place, Nyu was looking on with a grin.

"Yea...me too." She said as she was looking down, all the while sporting a small smile on her face. A face that made Pesky Dust smile at.

* * *

_Forest/Grave_

The scene changed once again. And Pesky Dust found himself back in a familiar forest. After thinking about it for a few seconds, he realized that it was the same forest where she met Kouta...and the same one..where she buried her puppy… The thought of what happened...it made the Nemuian sick to his stomach…

He saw Nyu, leaning back against a tree as she was looking at her puppy's grave. Pesky Dust adopted a small frown on his face.

"I wonder...if that girl is also looking for someone who is even more unhappy or something." She said with solemnity in her voice. She was thinking back to when Aiko was telling her about the picture she made about her mom and frowned a bit.

"I wonder if maybe…" She started. "No..her apartment is too narrow." She said, Pesky Dust was wondering what she was talking about since he didn't hear that voice, he assumed that she was talking about...possibly..living with Aiko in some way...or at least, that's what he hoped she was talking about.

Just then, Nyu's eyes went wide. "Why do I get the feeling…..that something has happened?" She asked as she began to make a run for it. Making the Nemuian confused a bit, but he also expressed some worry as well.

* * *

_Aiko's Apartment_

The scene changed once again to show that Nyu was walking up to Aiko's house. Pesky Dust could notice the hint of worry on Nyu's face and he then adopted the same face as well. He knew that something didn't feel right….

As Nyu walked right up to the door, she then knocked it down. After waiting a few minutes she then began to wonder if they were even home, but then she noticed something very..interesting.

"The doors open a bit…" Nyu said with curiosity. "I hope he's alright." She said as she then reached for the door and slid it open. "Hey, is anybody here? I wa-"

Pesky Dust noticed that she stopped talking and had a look of shock on her face. The Nemuina turned to see what she was facing and he then adopted the same look. Why? Because Aiko was in a corner in a fetal position with her knees covering her face...while her father was lying on the ground in front of her...dead.

( _Eyecatch featuring a younger Nyu, a younger Kouta, and a younger Yuka with younger Ben and Gwen, all of them smiling and eating some Ice Cream together_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Young Lucy crying while the DNA Voice was soothing her...all while giving an evil demonic smile_ )

_Aiko's Apartment_

Both the Diclonius and Nemuina had shocked looks on their faces at the sight of what they were seeing, Aiko was in the corner while her father was on the ground, dead. Pesky Dust knew because there was blood on the wall and blood was oozing out of the man's neck.

"What do I do now…" They heard Aiko ask, Pesky Dust could make it so that she had a voice of horror and fright. But there was something bothering him….just what happened?

Aiko then looked up to see Nyu and gave her a small sad smile. "Oh...you're here…" She told her.

Nyu, however, was a bit shocked at what Aiko apparently did, of course, Nyu herself decided not to kill him due to her not wanting to ruin this new friendship….but why would Aiko do it though?"

"Why?" Nyu asked her, with Pesky Dust wondering the same thing.

Aiko pointed to the picture frame nearby. "He saw the picture I made...the one I wanted to show to my mother...he got so mad at me." As she was talking, she began to tremble a bit. "H-he tried to rip it to shreds with a knife...but when I tried to stop him…" She then began to tremble even more as tears came out of her eyes. "I didn't mean it! It was an accident!"

Pesky Dust felt his heart go out for the girl. She never meant to kill him. It was an accident, a totally honest., accident. He was now worried about what was going to happen now.

"NOW I CAN NEVER MEET MY MOTHER NOW!" Aiko suddenly screamed. Causing both Nyu and Pesky Dust to cover their ears at the high volume of Aiko's voice. "I..I can't...not after what happened just now…" She said in a softer tone while trembling in fright.

Pesky Dust was worried about her, for one she could easily tell the cops that it was just a simple accident...of course there was also the chance that they might not believe her….one of them..not a good one.

He then saw Nyu looking at Aiko with a sad expression, and then she put her head down. What was she planning?

"I'll take responsibility." She suddenly said, "You go and meet your mother." Nyu said to her. Aiko and Pesky Dust both widened their eyes to the girl as she said this.

"What?" Aiko asked with a shaken voice.

Nyu went towards the door. "I'll take responsibility and say that it was me who killed him. You just go to the police..." She said solemnly.

"Nyu…" Pesky Dust said in awe. Was she really going to risk getting caught to help this poor girl? The Nemuian had some mixed feelings about this. He felt happy that she was helping out Aiko and this might have been a chance at redemption for the murders she committed...but he was against it because she might get captured and maybe get hurt as well…

"No! I can't do that!" Aikos said as she was grabbing onto Nyu's hands, the horned girl looked at Aiko, who had tears going down her face. "I can't let you do that."

"So you wouldn't want to see your mother then?" Nyu asked her a bit harshly, she didn't want to sound like that. She just didn't want Aiko to be blamed and eventually locked up for something that was a simple accident. Plas she wanted her to go see her mother.

"I mean...I do...but I just...I just can't." Aiko told her. "And not just that, look at me." She then pointed at her outfit, which was covered up by blood, there was not a lot of it, but it was still pretty noticeable. "The cops will investigate, and I'll surely be discovered then."

Nyu was pondering on what to do. "Hmmm…."She said while thinking. "In that case then…" She said as she was picking up the picture. "You can go to the police tomorrow, after you've seen your mother and given her the painting."

She then looked all around the house. "We can clean this up. And until then, we can go somewhere to hide for a while till tomorrow."

Aiko was looking at her with wide eyes. "Do you….really think so?"

Nyu looked back at her. "You don't know how many more years it'll be till your mother returns to Japan again…" She then noticed Aiko drowning again and went over to pat her on the shoulder. "I promise….nothing is going to happen to you...not while I'm here." She said determinedly.

"Nyu…" Pesky Dust said with awe. The Nemuina was smiling a bit at seeing how NYu was acting towards Aiko. She Was helping her out….he had to wonder...if Kouta did not lie to her about Yuka...could she have been like this as well? But a bit better? It was a question Pesky Dust would keep to himself though...for now.

"AAAAAAHHHGGG!" Pesky Dust's thoughts were interrupted by a scream and he and the others turned to view the source. It was that woman….the woman who Aiko's father was with a few hours ago.

She was staring at the scene with widened eyes. Her mouth was open and was trembling at seeing the sight. Her lover was dead….and there were those two girls…..she saw them and she adopted a face of pure anger.

"You...killed him…" she whispered ..."YOU KILLED HIM!" She screamed as she ran out the door. "MURDERERS! SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE! MURDERERS!" She yelled outside as she ran out.

"Shit.." Nyu said through gritted teeth, and she then turned to face Aiko. "Quick, we have to go now! If we stay here then they will come for us!" She said,

Aiko had tears going down her eyes though, to her it seems like things were falling apart a bit. Her father was now dead, his lover was calling her a murderer...it was making her weepy and sad.

"Aiko…" Nyu said as she then went over and held onto the weeping girl's shoulder. "I promise...I will arrange a meeting between you and your mother…" She told her in a soothing way. Aiko sobbed a bit more as the tow fled the house.

Pesky Dust was watching and felt something. "Why do I get the feeling that- _prrrr_ -something is going to happen…" He muttered through a worried voice.

* * *

_Department Store/Mall_

The scene changed once again and Pesky Dust found himself with both Nyu and Aiko, this time. The two were now outside a large mall.

"The exhibition is tomorrow." Aiko told her. "I just can't believe it...I'm actually going to see her tomorrow!" She said with hope in her voice.

"And like I told you before, I will make sure of it." Nyu said to her while giving her a grin. With Aiko returning it and Pesky Dust smiling at them.

Aiko looked back with a hopeful look on her face. "Mother...are you really going to be here?" She asked softly as the two girls began to walk towards the door and tried to open it.

"Darn it, it's locked." Nyu said. "Let's try around the back." She said as she began to lead Aiko to the back entrance. When they got back Aiko tried to open it again.

"Damn, it's locked as well…." She said dishearteningly. "I mean, the side gates are open, but there are other staff people here..so."

But Nyu had another idea, then brought out a vector of hers and began to jiggle around the clock a bit to get it open, after a few minutes. She was able to pick the lock and the door opened.

" _Wow…_ " Pesky Dust thought. He never knew that those things could be used for something like that. Heck, maybe she could make a living becoming a lock pick or something. A thought that caused the Nemuina to chuckle a bit.

"Alright, now we are in." Nyu simply said as she walked in. Leaving a bewildered Aiko behind a bit.

After that, they began walking around the mall to find out where the department store was, but luckily they didn't have to go far as it was nearby.

"Wow...so this is it…" Aiko said with awe as they walked in. Pesky Dust looked up to see a sign-up, but since it was in Japanese, he could not read it. ( **AN: It translates to Sachie's Art Show, Session: Oct, 23rd to Nov, 3rd, Support: P Maruo Department Store** )

"Yea…''Nyu said in agreement.

"So much nice- _prrrr_ -art." Pesky Dust said. He then flew around a bit to get a good look at everything, and everything that was in here looked really good. Shows how much effort people put in these pictures and stuff. The only problem was the lights though, they were all out.

"I guess she's in there though since the lights are all out…" Aiko said. "And I was hoping to at least catch her tonight...well, at least I can wait till tomorrow." She said,

"Well...we should probably hide then, and wait for our mother to come in the morning." Nyu said to Aiko. "So try not to move around too much, because-'' But she didn't get to finish because she then saw Aiko running down a hall. "Hey wait!" She called out.

" _What's that girl-prrrr- think she is doing?_ " Pesky Dust thought as he followed Nyu. After a few moments, they found Aiko looking up at a picture, it was a picture of a woman holding a newborn baby in her arms as she was smiling down at it.

" _Wow…'_ ' Pesky Dust thought with a smile on his face, but when he took a closer look at the picture, he could help but see the similarities between the baby, and Aiko, their hair looked the same.

Aiko however, was beginning to tear up a bit. "That...that's me in the picture…" she said as tears began to pour out of her eyes.

Nyu looked at her and gave her a soft smile as she rubbed the girl's shoulder. Pesky Dust shield a bit as tears came out of his own eyes as well. Seems like her mother didn't forget about her after all, and that feeling put a smile on the Nemuian's face.

"I guess," Pesky Dust heard Nyu's thoughts as the girl was still rubbing Aiko's shoulder. "It was good that she had me come here with her."

Pesky Dust smiled at Nyu, she could have just killed Aiko..but no, she didn't. She helped Aiko out. Hopefully, this might have made her happier...so why was she cold to him back at the graveyard?

As he was thinking this, the two girls went to sit down by a shelf that had some plushies on the shelf. Pesky Dust noticed this and flew right to them.

"You know..you're pretty extraordinary!" Aiko said to Nyu, prompting both her and Pesky Dust's eyebrows to raise. "I mean..you attacked my father after he beat me….you opened the lock...it's just...amazing." She said,

Nyu looked at her with a solemn look. Since Aiko seems to be the only person she could trust right now, she decided to have a bit of fun.

"Well you see, it's because I'm a witch." Nyu said to her

"Eh?" Aiko asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, there's nothing I can't do." Nyu said. Pesky Dust gave off a small smile at Nyu's attempts of trying to cheer Aiko up.

But Aiko wasn't buying it. "Hey now, why are you spewing out such childish things." She said, but Pesky Dust could see her blushing a bit.

Nyu gave a small smirk. "Look." she said and Aiko turned to see that a cat plushie was doing a little dance.

"Nice," Pesky Dust said with a big grin, while Aiko's eyes were a bit wide.

"NANI?!" She exclaimed with shock. Pesky Dust could see that the girl was getting excited at seeing this, and was laughing a bit at her expression. Aiko got even more excited when she saw a large portion of toys floating around her.

Pesky Dust could see that the vectors were doing it all. "You know, she could make a killing at being a puppeteer- _prrrr_." He joked a bit at seeing this. But then something else happened, something Nyu did not expect.

"AMAZING!" Aiko shouted as she glomped Nyu for a big hug. And just like that, all the toys had fallen to the floor and Nyu was shocked, her eyes as wide as saucers at this feeling.

" _This feeling….I haven't felt this much since...Kouta.._ " Nyu thought with a shocked voice. " _This girl...she…_ "

Pesky Dust heard her thoughts and was giving off a big grin. But a part of him was confused, she was sweeter like this in the past..but now in the future, Nyu..or Lucy...whatever her name is. Acts hostile ... What could have happened?

"Someday, if we get to play together again...I'd like to go on a painter's trip...with you." Aiko said.

"Wha-?" Nyu tried to ask.

Aiko had a small smile. "I want you to model for me, on every background there is…" she said as Nyu felt some tears on her shoulder.

Pesky Dust was watching this all with a small smile on his face, it seems like Aiko was able to bring out Nyu's nicer side. But as he was smiling at them. The bright light had flashed on, briefly blinding them a bit.

When Pesky Dust wiped his eyes away, he then noticed that there were a few armed men at the door, guns in hand and two men...two men he recognized.

"Professor Kakuzawa," Pesky Dust said through gritted teeth, to be honest, he was not happy at seeing him again, what with him lying to him and his other friends about Nyu, but a part of him felt bad due to him not being able to prevent Kakuzawa's death. When he saw Kurama, he was surprised. "Hey, that's the guy- _prrrr_ -from the graveyard...Nana's- _prrrr_ -father!" The Nemuina asked with confusion in his voice.

But that was neither the time nor place to answer. He was worried about what was about to happen.

"Hey Kurama," Kakuzawa said to him. "I never really faced two Diclonii at the same time, we should possibly take some precautionary actions first."

"Wait a minute." Kurama said. Pesky Dust could see the suspiciousness in his eyes, but he could also hear Nyu whisper something and from what he can see, she had a face of pure anger.

"We're still not sure yet if-" but before Kurama could finish, Nyu let out an angry cry and had her vectors throw a shelf of toys at them, a few of the soldiers got hit by it. And that was enough proof to get Kurama to confirm his suspicions.

"Well, now we're sure." Kakuzawa said with a grin on his face.

"FIRE, NOW!" Kurama shouted, and then all hell broke loose. Soldiers were firing guns at the two girls, Nyu was holding onto Aiko, who was screaming in fright. Pesky Dust was outraged by this, they were shooting at two young girls, and one of them isn't even doing anything!

"I will not…" Nyu said as she glared at the soldiers dangerously. "Let them hurt us." She said as she used her vectors to tear a piece of the floor off and use it as a barrier between her, Aiko, and the soldiers.

" _Holy Hell!_ " Pesky Dust thought. First, they can cut off human flesh, and now that can tear off pieces of buildings? What the hell kind of hands were those? Could...all horned girls have them? Well, he knew that Nyu and Nana did...but could there be others?

"The floor..was ripped out?" Kakuzawa said as sweat was going down the side of his head, he was getting pretty nervous about this whole thing.

Aiko was still screaming in fright, just what was going on? One minute she and her new friend were just laying and hugging, and now there were armed men there shooting at them. Just what was going on?

Nyu glared at the men dangerously. "I..I don't have a choice...they have to die." She thought in dread. Normally Pesky Dust would be against it...and to be honest, he kinda was. But he knew that this was self-defense and that she had to protect herself and Aiko.

"Wh-what's going on?" Aiko asked fearfully, but Nyu told her to shush and to not look in a gentle voice. Pesky Dust was angry with himself, if he was there he could go Diamondhead and shield them from the attack and help them escape.

"I'm afraid!" Aiko said fearfully.

"Don't be, I'm right here to protect you." Nyu said comfortingly. Pesky Dust was smiling at that but was also scared due to their current situation.

"Dammit, they aren't going to be able to- _prrrr_ -escape from here." Pesky Dust said with worry. He then looked back at the girls, and he saw Aiko looking to the side and followed her gaze.

Kurama was standing at the side with a gun in hand and pointed it at Nyu. Ben went wide-eyed.

"NYU! AIKO, GET OUT OF THERE!" He tried shouting, he knew it was just a dream but he still had to try to do something.

"Don't worry, I'm a witch afterall." Nyu said to Aiko, but the girl was not paying attention due to Kurama's attention, when she saw his finger about to pull the trigger, she did something…

"NOO!" She screamed as she pushed Nyu out of the way.

**BANG**

Both Diclonius and Nemuina went wide-eyed at seeing Aiko, who had now been shot in the stomach. And fell to the ground and began to bleed out.

"AIKO!" Pesky Dust shouted in horror and fright. He and Nyu reached to the floor to find blood coming out of her mouth.

"You..you're a human…" Nyu said. "You….." And then this happened…

" **RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH**!" Nyu roared in fury as then, her vectors went out of her back and up into the ceiling into the sky, this also caused a minor earthquake that made everyone fall over.

"Holy shit…!" Pesky Dust said with shock. Just..how powerful was she? But he realized that this was not the time, now he had to focus on Nyu and Aiko.

Meanwhile Kakuzawa was going over to Kurama, who was knocked back by the tremor. "You alright Kurama?" He asked.

Kurama groaned a bit as he was starting to get up. "Yes..a little bit." He said while rubbing his head.

"Just..what the hell was that explosion?" Kakuzawa asked with shock.

"I don't know..but if we can assume that it's Diclonius' power." As he said this Pesky Dust could see all the bodies around, some of them were splattered and their pieces all over, with blood on the ground. The sight of it all...just made him feel sick to his stomach.

As he turned to where the girls were, he saw that they had disappeared. This made him worry and he flew off to find them. After a few seconds, he saw Nyu and Aiko right by some other shelves nearby.

"Listen to me!" Nyu said to the girl. "I'll save you..no matter what!" She said Pesky Dust noticed that she sounded very worried and paranoid.

"Nyu…" Pesky Dust said solemnly, he saw the wound himself and knew that this was not going to save her…..Dammit! He felt so bad, if he was there he could have possibly gone Clockwork and healed her up, just like what he did with Nana.

"I *cough* knew it…" Aiko said weakly. "I won't get to die alone...Not after I killed my father…"

"Don't say stuff like that you idiot!" Nyu said to her. "You're going to be fine!" She said with anxiousness in her voice.

"I just...want to thank you *cough* for all that you have done for me up to this point." She said to her.

But Nyu was still not going to take that. "Don't give me that bullshit dammit! You still haven't met your mother yet!"

All Pesky Dust could do was watch with tears going down his eyes.

"*sniff* All I do is kill and destroy." Nyu said while weeping a bit. "And yet...I can't even save a single life that's right in front of me."

Pesky Dust looked at her and gave her a sad look, he didn't blame her for this. Aiko was the one who risked her life to save her.

**BAM**

Nyu was then all of a sudden, kicked right in the face and she went back into some boxes.

"Just give up already." Kurama said coldly as Nyu looked up and saw him, Kakuzawa, and several armed me all pointing guns at her. "There's no place in the world for horned girls like yourselves."

The Nemuina glared at Kurama, did he really think that Aiko had anything to do with the murderers that Nyu committed? Aiko didn't do anything, well she did kill her father, but that was an accident.

Pesky Dust could hear Aiko breathing a bit, so she was still alive. But he knew that there wouldn't be much time before she really dies.

"You bastards are wrong about her." Nyu told them all. Much to their confusion. "She has nothing to do with me, so please help her."

"What are you talking about?" Kurama asked her "Both of you killed people together didn't you? Or were we wrong?"

Nyu didn't say anything to them, and Pesky Dust was worried because this could go either way, and he didn't like the possible outcome of either option. Kurama said something as he pushed his glasses back on his face.

"If you surrender willingly, then we'll help the girl. But if you resist...then you'll just let her die."

" _Look who's talking…_ " Kakuzawa thought. Pesky Dust looked a bit surprised. Did Kakuzawa not like the fact that Aiko was shot? Hmm…

"Think carefully about what you can do." Kurama told her. And about what you can't do."

Nyu looked down at Aiko and then down at the floor. For the past few years, she has been on the run for authorities….and after gaining a second friend for the first time in years, she gets caught in the crossfire.

She had a choice. Either refuse to surrender and let her die? Or Surrender and hopefully make sure that Aiko gets better.

"Maybe...it's for the best." she whispered. She gently put Aiko down and stood up on her feet.

"Fine then, as long as you keep your promise." She said to Kurama.

"Nyu…" Pesky Dust said with awe and surprise. He didn't expect that to come from her, but he felt happy and proud of her for surrendering to let Aiko live.

But a part of him was also kinda sad, he didn't want Nyu to give up that easily, but he knew that she had to in order to save Aiko's life. Part of him wondered if maybe Nyu secretly wanted to get caught, as a punishment for the crimes and murders she committed in the past years.

Certainly…" Kurama said as he then had his soldiers go and pin the girl to the ground, something that made Pesky Dust narrow his eyes at the man. "And you keep yours as well." He then turned to some other men nearby. "Get the other girl some help, immediately!"

"Yes sir!" they said they bought out a gurney and helped load Aiko onto it.

Nyu was looking up with tears in her eyes. " _Don't worry Aiko,_ " She thought. " _I promise, I'll come to your side, and then we can leave together to make drawings...just wait for me._ "

Pesky Dust looked down a bit and frowned at this whole scene. He felt like something was going to happen, and it truly did. He felt horrible, he felt horrible for Nyu, and for Aiko as well.

He was hoping that Aiko would be alright soon, so that she can be with her mother...hopefully.

( _Eyecatch featuring Nana and Mayu smiling and laughing_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Kouta, Yuka, Nyu, Mayu, Nana, Wanta, and Nozomi sitting down and enjoying a small picnic together, while Ben was watching from the far side_ )

_Diclonius Institute_

The scene had changed once again, but this time, it took place at a location that was new to the Nemuina. It was a large room that resembled a chamber, but he was shocked at what he saw in the center.

It was Nyu, wrapped up like a mental patient at a mental asylum, she also had on this metal mask. And was kept in a large cage-like container. Just what the hell was Kurama doing?

Speaking of….

"I have some bad news for you…" Kurama said to her, but his voice...it sounded kinda cold. "But the girl is dead."

Pesky Dust went wide-eyed. No...it couldn't have! She was supposed to get better, she was supposed to reunite with her mother! How could...fate be so cruel?

Because Pesky Dust, (or Ben Tennyson) was a superhero, he made sure to try to save as many lives as possible, hell he risked his own life to save the world countless times. And knowing this...not being there at the time...it made him feel useless and tears began to pour out of his eyes.

Nyu was not faring either, Pesky Dust could see tears go out of the small breathing holes in the mask.

Kurama turned back to face the large door. "You know, this would never have happened if you both surrendered." He said to her. A sentence that made Nemuina glare at him. "If only you Diclonious had chosen to coexist with us humans…"

After that, he said nothing else and he walked out of the room. And with that, the scene changed again to a dark void.

"Nyu...I'm so sorry." Pesky Dust said as tears came out of his eyes. After seeing another bad memory he didn't know how much more to take.

But he was very pissed at Kurama, why did he act like that towards her? It's almost as if he didn't even care about Aiko, and just said that to Nyu to spite her.

Actually...Nemuina was wondering about that, back at the graveyard. He was treating Nana with extreme care and affection. But here he was treating Nyu with disdain, of course, she killed people. But why didn't he treat Nana like that?

Maybe it might have been because. Well since she is his daughter, it might have been possible that he overlooked her own horns? It was a question that Pesky Dust would have to find out.

"I should possibly leave…" The Nemuina said with sadness as he began to leave Nyu's mind once again. Unknowbest o him, a certain familiar figure looked on and gave a sinister grin.

"You can try all you like Tennyson, but there's no way that you will save her..or anyone else." The DNA Voice said with a dark grin

* * *

_Maple Inn_

"Do you think Ben is ok?" Nana asked Mau worriedly.

"Don't worry, my big brother is tough!" Mayu said to her she was determined that Ben was alright. But even she was starting to get a bit worried. After a few minutes, the two girls noticed a light coming from Nyu's head and came out to reveal Pesky Dust, who then taped the dial and turned back into Ben.

"Ben!" Mayu said as she and Nana ran over to him. When they saw his face, they could see that his eyes were a bit red and puffy.

"Ben? Are you ok?" Nana asked him worriedly.

"Huh? Oh...yea, I'm fine." He said solemnly, and Mayu and Nana both knew that he was not ok.

"Ben...what happened?" Mayu asked him with worry. Ben however...was not feeling too talkative.

"It's just….I'll tell you later." He said solemnly as he then walked out of the room, leaving behind a confused and worried Mayu and Nana.

Ben then walked into his room and began to sit on his futon with his hands digging through his hair. Just what was going on?

Furthermore...what was that place that Nyu was in? Was it some kind of lab? Ben would have to ask Nana about it at some point. But the biggest thing Ben wanted to know...Kurama.

Ben had met Kurama briefly at the graveyard after he healed Nana, and Ben trusted him somewhat due to him promising not to reveal about him. About after what he saw...he began to get some distrust into the man. Why would he do that to Nyu? Of course Nyu was wanted for those murders...but still, to not feel any regret for Aiko's death? What the hell?

"Oh, Nyu...Aiko...I'm so sorry." Ben said as a tear came from the corner of his left eye. The door to his room began to open and he quickly wiped the eye away, he looked up to find everyone else standing right in the doorway.

"Ben, are you ok?" Yuka asked him in a concerned voice.

"Huh? Oh, yea..don't worry." He said putting up a fake smile, but Mayu and Nana could tell it was fake. Nyu walked over to him and knelt down.

"Ben crying?" She asked. Ben then felt a tear going down his face.

"Huh? Oh no, I wasn't crying, Nyu." He said as he quickly wiped the tear away. "Just something in my eye, that's all."He said.

Nyu seemed to buy it as she gave him a happy smile.

"Well," Kouta said. "Since we are here, we might as well show Nana her things in here now then." He said.

"Huh? Things for me?" She asked as they all began sitting around Ben's room. Kouta and Yuka bought out some gift bags and Nana, out of curiosity, went through them. And much to her surprise, they were all clothes.

"Is..all of this for me?" she asked them.

"Well, you certainly can't wear Mayu's clothing forever." Kouta explained to her as she and Nyu were going through the clothing. Yuka got up a nice pink top.

"I picked this one out just for you." Yuka said with a smile. "I hope you like it."

"Y-yes...it's really cute...I" Nana, however, was beginning to cry herself. "Never wore anything like it." she said as she began to weep a bit. Nyu noticed this and put down on of the clothing to go over and pet the poor girl on the head.

Ben looked over at Nana and gave her a small smile. And he then took a look at Nyu. With the memories of the orphanage, her puppy, Kouta, Aiko...all coming back to him. And felt a tear go down his face

" _I will not let anything happen to you Nyu...Lucy, whatever name you go by...I promise._ " He thought, he then took a look at the other Maple Inn residents. " _And I will not let anything happen to you guys as well._ " He thought. He then felt a hand grab his hand and looked to see Mayu, the younger girl giving him a warm smile as she wiped the tear away. With Ben smiling back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was it for this one folk. Si Ben saw another memory and it as not god as well. Originally in the OVA, the memory was only shown just a little and it was only in the OVA. It was never in the original anime, so I had to go back and read the chapter to figure out the whole dream again. And boom there we go :)
> 
> Anyways. Thank you all so much for liking this story, it makes me smile to know how much you all like it. I know I do have issues with spelling, but I promise you, I do go over it and check for more, and sometimes the littel things are easy to miss, but I am trying to get those fixed. I promise.
> 
> Please, do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys, and I'm always happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time, and be ready...because it's going to be a calm before the storm.
> 
> Also stay safe and make sure to wash your hands daily and have some hand sanitizer with you at all times. Stay safe out there everyone.


	19. Calm Before The Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody, I hope you are all doing ok, and I hope you are doing everything you can do to keep yourself from getting the coronavirus. So in the last chapter, we saw Ben enter Nyu's mind again and saw another sad backstory of her losing another friend. And Ben got a glimpse of the mysterious Diclonius Institute, all the while making him a bit distrustful towards Kurama. What other dark secrets will Ben discover? We will just have to wait and see.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Maple Inn_

Ben was laying down on his futon looking up into the ceiling. He couldn't sleep that night. No, he could not. After witnessing another horrible memory in Nyu's head, he had so many questions going on inside his head. Mainly concerning that area that Kurama had Nyu locked up in. He also remembered that Nana had horses well...did she come from the same place?

" _*Sigh* All of this is making me go nuts._ " Ben thought. " _I seriously need to get some answers on what is going on here._ " He thought.

"Just what the hell is that place? Some kind of lab? I need to figure it out." Ben said as he was trying to just get some sleep. But he just couldn't, maybe a glass of water and a cookie might help out.

So Ben got out of hsi futon and tip-toed into the kitchen, making sure to not wake anyone up. He went over to the cupboard and got out a glass and brought it over to the sink to fill it up. He also reached a jar on top of the fridge and took out one of the bird cookies from earlier.

Ben grabbed a cookie and took a bite out of it, savoring the yummy taste of brown sugar.

"So delicious." He said she took a sip of water as well. "I still need to find out more about that facility though." He said as he took another sip of water, after drinking it all he washed the cup very quietly dried it and put it in the dish drainer and tip-toed back to his room. Meanwhile, Mayu and Nana, who heard a bit of the commotion, came out and saw the older boy go back to his room.

The two girls walked back in their own room, Mayu had offered to share hers with Nana for the time being.

"Nana, what do you think is wrong with Ben?" Mayu asked the pin-haired girl.

"I don't know." The girl said as she shrugged her shoulders. She didn't do it to be mean, she really didn't know what was wrong.

"I'm starting to get worried for him. Tonight, he seems really off for some reason." Mayu said with a glint of concern in her voice. Ever since they met, and ever since Ben had kicked her stepfather's ass. Mayu has begun to look up to Ben, to the point where she viewed him as an older brother. And the way he has been acting tonight I'm worried about him.

Nana also felt it a bit, while she did not know him as long as Mayu did, but Ben did save her from Lucy. Not to mention, he also restored her arms and legs after they were cut off. After seeing the kind side of him, Nana was happier around him, where she also felt like he was an older brother.

"I bet we can get him to tell us tomorrow," Nana said with a girl as she leaped onto her futon and was about to go to sleep.

"Yea...I hope." Mayu said as she went to go lie on her own futon next to Nana's. As she was about to go to sleep, she still couldn't help but worry about Ben. Was it something about Nyu? Only time could tell.

Nana actually felt it too, was it something to do with Lucy? He went in her mind after all, what did he see? What could he have seen that made him act a bit hesitant tonight? She thought it might have been all the murderers that Lucy had committed over time and Ben was finally seeing for the monster Lucy was. Well...even so, that doesn't mean that he had to be upset about it though, Nana was hoping that Ben would be alright.

* * *

_Lucy's Mind/The Orphanage_

Lucy was walking down a hall, the hall of the Orphanage she was once in. The place where it all began...the place….where she committed her first kills. Lucy was not an idiot, she knows that Ben had seen her memories, her past, her childhood….Aiko, Kouta….

" _He saw everything….my past….everything. So why the hell would he be nice to me?_ " She thought as she stopped walking and slumped down against a wall. "He knows what I am….a monster….a killer….why does he care about me?"

Lucy's legs curled up to her chest and she put her head in between them. This was a very difficult thing to think about. She found out about him going into her mind, a thing that made her even more curious about the boy. Just what was he? And what was his game?

"Maybe it is trying to find a weakness?" Lucy looked up to see a familiar figure, a figure she gave a hard look towards. It was the DNA voice, now taking on her current appearance, but with the wraps still on her face.

"I doubt that." Lucy said as she looked away from the figure. But the Voice retained that grin of hers.

"What do you mean child?" The DNA voice said as she knelt down to her. "I am only speaking the truth."

Lucy sent a glare at the voice. "Shut up!" She told her.

The voice scoffed and got up. "Believe what you want, but know this. That Tennyson boy needs to be eliminated soon, who knows? He might try to kill you." It said as it vanished away.

Lucy was looking at the now empty space where the voice once stood and looked down.

"Tennyson….Ben...if you know what's good for you. You'll leave Kamakura...and go back home." Lucy said solemnly.

"Nyu!" Lucy heard a voice and walked right to a doorway, and saw Nyu sitting down, with her legs swinging and drawing a picture with a happy smile on her face.

Lucy gave a small smile and turned away. "I wish I was like her...without these horns….I could live a happy life…"

As Lucy was staring down, Ben came into her mind again. He was like Kouta, he was nice, sweet, caring. Through Nyu, Lucy was beginning to feel something. Could it be...love? It shouldn't, Kouta was the only human she could ever love….right?

"Kouta…..Tennyson." Lucy said as the images of the two boys were in her head. "You're both too kind…" She said solemnly, as then the area began to grow dark. But something on Lucy's mind was intact. What was Ben Tennyson?

* * *

_Maple Inn_

The next morning, everyone had gotten up and gone into the dining room for breakfast, today was a delicious meal consisting of steamed rice, miso soup, and some yummy grilled fish, with a side dish consisting of eggs.

"Itadakimasu!" Everyone said with a smile as they began to dig in.

"Come on, dang it!" Well...almost everyone. Ben still had issues trying to handle chopsticks. And as such he was simply jabbing into the rice, or at least trying to get it. It was a sight that made Mayu, Nana, and Nyu giggle at.

"*Sigh* let me help you out, Ben." Yuka said as she grabbed onto Ben's fingers and helped him grip it right.

"Sorry Yuka, all I'm familiar with is eating with a fork." The boy said with a blush on his face.

"It's alright Ben." Yuka said to him.

"Not everyone is skilled with chopsticks for the first time." Kouta said as he took a sip of his tea.

"Can you blame me?" Ben asked with a deadpan expression as he took a bite of his rice.

Nyu took a glance over at Ben, and then over at Kouta, and she started to blush at seeing the two of them. Something was going on in her chest, every time she faced either one of them, her heart began to beat fast. But she couldn't figure out why though….it was so weird.

"So anyway," Ben said. "What's on the agenda for today?" He asked.

Yuka turned to face him, "Nothing really, Nozomi is coming over in a little bit for more studying, so I would like it if we can clean up a bit after we are done eating."

"Ok, sounds fair." Kouta said as he took a sip of his tea again.

"Good, Ben, you can handle the futons right?" Yuka asked.

"Got it."

"Ok, then Nyu and I can sweep the front porch, and Mayu and Nana can scrub the hallway. Kouta can take care of the dishes."

Kouta, however, was shocked about that. "What? Why me?"

"Just do it." Yuka said as she gave him a death glare.

"Yes, ma'am!" He said nervously.

"*Whip sound*" Ben said teasingly, much to Kouta's ire and making Mayu and Nyu giggle.

"Zip it!" Kouta said to the boy, causing Ben to smile cheekily and continue eating his food.

_10 minutes later…._

Ben was in his room, folding up hsi futon and making sure everything was all cleaned up nicely. After this, he went to Yuka's room and Kouta's room to do the same. After he came out, he saw Mayu and Nana scrubbing the floor a bit, and he gave a small smile at how Nana was slowly adjusting well to life here...now if only he can tell her about Nyu…

Speaking of, as the two girls were scrubbing up the floor, they still could not help but feel sorry about the boy they considered a brother. What did he see in Nyu's head that made him solemn? Nana was the one who wanted to know about it the most.

"I really wonder what Ben saw in Lucy's head last night." Nana said as he scrubbed.

"Hey Nana," Mayu said to her. "Why do you keep calling her Lucy?"

"That's her name, it's Lucy. I don't know where you called her Nyu from."

"Well, Ben told me that they called her Nyu because she is always saying that word." Mayu said to her. "But it's good that she is learning new words though." As she said this Mayu was still scrubbing the floor.

Nana remembered when Ben told her about trying to be civil with Nyu, and so far she wanted to, and she did want to try. But how could she? The girl TORE her limbs off! Thank god that Ben was there to restore them. Then again….she saw how Ben acted last night after he came back from inside her head...what happened in there?

"Ben...what did you see?" Nana wondered in her mind.

Meanwhile, Yuka and Nyu were both out on the front porch sweeping up some of the leaves that were still there from last night. All they were doing was sweeping the leaves off to the side on the lawn, with Yuka making a note to take care of them later.

" _Kouta…_ " She thought. " _That kiss we shared back at the shrine...did you feel anything for me? I know it's been a long time since the festival….but I just want to know..._ " She said as she gave a small frown. As she was doing this, she was unaware that Nyu was playing with one of the leaves, with her putting the leaf on her nose and giggling to herself.

Yuka stopped to see what Nyu was doing and gave a small smile while giggling. " _Still though...I really want to learn more about her, I still wonder if Nana might have connections to her, due to their horns and stuff like that._ "

Kouta was inside the kitchen and scrubbing up the last dish from breakfast. After he put it in the drainer he sighed and rubbed his forehead.

" _Phew, that takes care of that._ " He thought. As he was looking into the sink, images of Nyu were coming up in his head. "I can't deny that she is cute, with her hair and eyes. And that sweet smile." He said with a smile. "But still...I honestly feel like I know her from somewhere." He said as he got a confused look

As if he pushed a button a flash from his lost memories striked up briefly, causing him to instantly grab the sink and put his left hand on his head and groan and tremble. "I swear. That's the second time it's happened."

Kouta sighed a bit as he then grabbed a small cup and filled it up with water, as he took a sip of it, Yuka came into his mind again.

"I swear, I don't mean to be mean to her...it's just, it seems so long ago...the festival. My brain is still kind of fuzzy from trying to remember it." He said as he then dumped the rest of the water from the cup into the sink.

Meanwhile, Ben was done finishing getting all the rooms together, as he was coming out of Yuka's room, he still saw that Mayu and Nana were scrubbing the floor while giggling to themselves. Something that made Ben smile at.

Then something came into his head. Lucy has that weird voice thin in her head….and since he scanned her, that means he got a copy of her DNA, ergo he had a Diclonius sample in his Omnitrix...could he….also have a voice in his head?

"I might have to see….for all I know, it might be like Alien X…" He pondered in his head. "Well, I'll just have to wait and see." He said as he then left himself to his thoughts.

_5 minutes later…._

Kouta, Mayu, and Nana were all sitting down in the dining room. Mayu fou8nd a job that might be useful for Nana...being in charge of Wanta's food dish.

"So she's in charge of Wanta's meals then?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Nana said to him. "There's still so much for me to learn, but I promise that I can learn them to earn my keep here." She said determinedly, but inside she was worried that might not be enough for him.

Kouta, however, gave a smile. "Well, as long as you do something, then that's fine with me." He said as Nana gave off a curious look. "All we want for you is to do your part around here." He said with a smile. A smile that Nana returned, but then she saw something that sparked her curiosity.

"Hey, who's that?" she asked. Kouta looked at her confusingly before turning his head to what she was pointing at.

"Oh...that's my little sister, she died some time ago." He said solemnly before getting up and going to take the photo of her off of the shelf.

"She died?" Nana asked. At this point, Nyu also came into the room, looking confused but listening to the conversation.

"Yea," Kouta said. "Before she died..I said something really mean to her, I can't really remember what I said, but I always regretted it. No matter how badly I want to apologize...I think I lost my chance." He said with a solemn look.

Nyu, who had been staying quiet for the time being, finally spoke up. "No! No No!" She said, causing Kouta and the other two girls to look at her with surprised looks. "Don't cry Kouta!" This just made the boy even more confused and surprised. "Please don't cry!" She begged.

"But Nyu, I'm not crying." He said, trying to calm her down, but as soon as Nyu looked into the picture, she began to tremble and shake as tears started to pour out of her eyes.

" _No more!_ " A young boy's voice called out to her, this just made Nyu breath hard, and Nana looked at her, worried that Lucy was about to emerge.

"What's wrong?" Mayu asked Nana.

"Oh..nothing, I just had that feeling, that's all." She said as Mayu sighed in relief. Nyu then grabbed some scissors and took off.

"Wait, where are you going with those scissors?" He asked as he followed the honored girl out of the house. "Nyu, wait!" He called out. Mayu And Nana got up and looked at each other with confused but concerned faces.

They heard the door slide open and turned around to see Ben come in, a face of confusion.

"Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Not really, Kouta was just talking about his sister, and NYu all of a sudden started crying, and then she took some scissors and ran out of the room." Mayu said.

Ben looked at her with confusion, what could a story do to make the girl upset? Of course, he couldn't complain, after witnessing her memories and whatnot. Well, they had to find her before she did something dangerous. "Alright, then, let's go follow them." He said as the two girls nodded and started for the door where Kouta and Nyu took off.

Ben stayed behind a little bit to go over and pick up the picture of Kanae and looked at it. He was confused as to why seeing her pic made Nyu cry...unless...it brought back another painful memory? Ben would have to figure this one out. But for now, he had to help them find Nyu.

Ben went outside of the room to find Kouta, Nana, and Mayu standing together.

"You guys find her?" Ben asked.

Kouta sighed. "No, she took off super fast. I don't know where she might be." He said with concern.

"Alright, don't panic, I'm sure we can find her. Mayu, you and Nana check upstairs." Ben said.

"Got it." Mayu said as both she and Nana went upstairs.

"Kouta, let's go see if she is in the back." He said as the two boys walked to the door that led to the back.

"Why did she grab scissors?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, but we better make sure she doesn't do anything stupid with them." He said.

Meanwhile, outside. Nyu was looking at the scissors with a sad look on her face, and she took them….and opened them up and put them close to her neck? What was she going to do?!, and all that was heard was a snip…

Kouta and Ben both went outside to see if she was there, and looked around.

"Nyu!" Kouta said, Ben turned to see him looking at her and she was kneeling down nearby. As they both walked towards her, she looked to face them and said.

"I'm not Nyu." she said, causing the two boys to look at her with surprise. As she got up, they both noticed she cut off all of her long hair, and now it went down to her neck.

" _That...that's the same look she had when she was younger…!_ " Ben thought inwardly, why did she do that? Although to be fair, he could not help but find her really cute.

Nyu walked over to them both, well mostly to Kouta. "I'm Kanae, I forgive you." She said to him as she then put her hands on his shoulders "I forgive you, Kouta!" She said.

At this point, Ben walked back a bit to give them both some space. He was also wondering about what she might have been talking about.

He wasn't the only one watching, Mayu and Nana came outside to witness the even unfurling before them as well and came up to him

"Nyu wants to be his little sister." Mayu said with a small smile. "So she can forgive Kouta and make him feel better." She said. Ben smiled and ruffled her hair, causing her to smile and blush a bit.

She, however, looked over at Nana, who was still looking at her. "What's wrong?"

"You weren't wrong...she is a nice person." Nana said as she looked on, she then looked at Ben. "Ben, what did you see in her mind last night?" she asked.

Ben trembled a bit of her mentioning what he saw, he took a deep breath before calming down a bit inward. "I'll...tell you both later, I? Promise." He said as he still looked on.

Mayu looked at Ben again with a concerned look, but relented. "C'mon Nana, let's leave them alone." She said as she escorted the horned girl back inside, leaving only the two boys and another girl outside.

Nyu was still looking upset to see Kouta cry and was begging him to stop. "I'm sorry," she suddenly said, much to his confusion. "I'm sorry." she said again.

Kouta was confused at first, but then remembered about the shell she broke when she first arrived. That must be it!

"I see, you're still upset about the shell." He said.

"That's what she is upset about?" Ben asked.

"I think so."

Nyu was still apologizing and apologizing. As Ben saw her, he couldn't;t help but feel like she was apologizing for much more than the shell...Just then Nyu instantly grabbed her head and cried out.

"Nyu!" Ben said with concern in his voice, and Kouta then brought the girl in for a tender hug.

"I don't know why but I feel like I have known you for a long time." He said as Nyu then buried her face into Kouta's shoulder. "Thank you Nyu, I care about you as well." He said with a small smile.

Ben couldn't help but feel jealous about the hug she was giving him, but he didn't' say anything about it, nor was he mad at either of them. But for how she acted...there must be something else...what else did Lucy do?

He then turned to see Yuka looking through the door, and she had a face of sadness and walked away. Ben saw and frowned a bit, it seems like Yuka had a thing for Kouta after all.

_20 minutes later…_

Ben was sitting on his futon in thought. There is something else, Nyu was apologizing a lot to Kouta, and while he thinks that it was due to the shell...Ben couldn't help but feel like there was another reason for her to apologize a lot.

"There's gotta be something else…" He wondered. "But what could it be?"

Meanwhile, Nana was sitting down in the dining room and looking into her cup of tea. For the whole time she was here, she was wary of Nyu. Worried that she might turn back into Lucy. But so far...she didn't, also Ben had told her a bit of what might have happened to her.

Nana couldn't kill her...no she couldn't she already promised Ben, plus as he said, she would at least try to be civil with her. As long as Nyu was not Lucy again….then she might be able to live with them.

"I have to go tell that man that I am not going to do it." she thought as she then got up. Mayu was coming from somewhere and saw her by the door.

"Hey Nana, where are you going?" The young girl asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am going to go for a little walk." Nana told her. "I won't be gone for long."

"Well..ok, just make sure to come back soon though," Mayu said cautiously. "And don't forget to wear a hat to cover your horns." She said.

"Alright!" Nana said as she made her way outside.

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben and Lucy facing off against each other_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Nana looking up into the sky, thinking about Kurama_ )

_Yuigahama Beach_

Over at a nearby beach, the hitman Bando was sitting down by an old boat, he was looking around in disgust.

"So much trash around here, I need to get rid of it all for when I face that pink-haired bitch again." He said, he then looked down at his robotic hand. "Thank god that the circuits didn't break down or something like that."

As he was looking at his hand, he heard some footsteps and looked up to see who was coming.

"Oh, it's you." He said it was Nana who had approached him. "Well, what do you want, kid? And why the hell are you grinning?"

"What are you talking about?" Nana asked. I wasn't grinning." She said, but she couldn't help but giggle a bit, making Bando a bit irritated. "But...you told me that you didn't have a place to call ho weight, but it seems like you found one. That makes you a liar."

Bando scoffed at her. "Whatever, anyway. Did you find the honored girl yet?" He asked

Nana trembled a bit as he asked this. This was her chance, her chance to tell him, her chance to finally please Papa! Part of her wanted to...but then again, she didn't want anything to happen to her new friends.

"Well?" Bando asked in an irritated voice.

Nana was remembering the kindness of Nyu and remembered Ben going to explain to her about Nyu...she couldn't forgive her for almost killing her...but she owed Ben her life for saving her.

"No, unfortunately, I couldn't find her." Nana said as she lied to the man. " _I can't do it...I'm sorry Papa, but I just can't abandon my new life and put the others in danger….and Lucy...or Nyu...I am just so confused about what Ben tried to tell me._ "

As Bando was muttering under his breath about her being useless or something, Nana gave a loud gasp as her eyes went wide, she sensed something...something..malicious. She looked up to see an airplane flying overhead.

Nana stared at the plane long and hard as one thing came to her mind.

" _Who?!_ " She wondered with fright in her voice.

On the Airplane, Isobe was sitting down with Mariko, who was strapped together with a helmet on her face and constricted in a straight jacket. Mariko's body also trembled a bit.

"There's another one…." she said through her mask.

"Huh?" Isobe asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I said there's another one….but it doesn't seem to be Lucy though….I can kill her too right?"

" _Number 7…or Lucy._ " Isobe thought with dread.

Back at the beach, Nana was still looking up into the sky as Bando also took note of it.

"What's up?" He asked. "That Chopper looks unusual to you or something?"

Nana was still trembling, she could feel another Diclonius...only...it was nothing like Lucy, this one felt...stronger…

"It's not her…" Nana muttered as her breathing went hard. When Bando ask3d her what she said. "NO, IT'S NOT LUCY, IT CAN'T BE HER!" She suddenly screamed, causing the former SAT operative to look at her, bewildered and confused.

" _The hell's up with her?_ " He thought.

Nana could feel the other Dicloniuss presence and get scared. "I sense extreme evil….what should I do?" She wondered in fright. But another thought came into her mind….was the target her? Or Lucy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is that everybody, so I know in the last chapter that things were going to get interesting, and we got a glimpse. All I can say is that things are going to go crazy for the upcoming chapters.
> 
> Again, thank you guys for reading and liking this story so far, it makes me happy to see you all enjoy it :)
> 
> Anyway, don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> Wee you all next time, as things are about to go down.


	20. The Rumble on the Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. So last time, Nana has started to get used to life in Maple Inn. and she went over to Yuigahama Beach to end her alliance with Bando. But unfortunately for her...she sensed Mariko in the area. What is going to happen? And what is Nana going to do about it? Let's all find out in this crazy chapter.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Yuigahama Beach_

Nana was looking up into the sky, shaking and trembling in fear. There was another Diclonius here in Kamakura..and this Diclonius...felt far worse than Lucy. And she wasn't the only one staring up at it either. Bando was also looking up at it, having noticed Nana's unease.

But she then remembered hearing Kurama's message on that thing from the pod...about how his boss issued an order to kill her and all….could...could this be the thing he was talking about?

" _I..I don't know what to do…_ " She thought with uncertainty. " _I tried so hard to find a place to live..and now someone is coming after me…._ " At this point, she sunk down to her knees and cried. "Why...WHY DID I THINK THAT I COULD LIVE HAPPILY?!" She screamed as tears were coming out of her eyes

Bando was a bit perplexed at seeing this. Just what the hell was she talking aobut? Person of strength? Great evil? Just what the hell was she thinking? As he was about to ask her what she meant. She immediately grabbed him by his jacket.

"I beg of you. You and me! Let's both fight together!" She said to him suddenly. "Please...I beg of you!". Bando was surprised at first but then sneered at her.

"No way kid!" He snapped as he shoved her off of him. "If that girl isn't Lucy, then it doesn't matter to me." He said to her. "I don't know what you're blubbering about, but if you have your own enemy coming for you, then you fight them yourself. We ain't even friends anyway." He scoffed at her.

Nana looked up at him with tearful eyes. Was...he really going to deny her request? At this point. Nana's fist balled up and was shaking a little bit. A part of her was screaming to punch him right in the face..but she couldn't.

"Fine then.." She said...and then she stared up at him with an angry face. "I WON'T RELY ON SOMEONE LIKE YOU ANYMORE YOU STUPID BAD MAN!" She screamed as she then started to run away from him. "YOU JERK!" She then ran far away from him.

This caused the ex-SAT member to look back at her.

"Jeez, the hell is her deal?" He wondered. "If that ain't Lucy, then what's the point of me helping her out?" He asked as he then sat down. "Besides..." He then got up to look at his holstered gun. "Since SAT is no more, my ammo is limited, so I don't have time to fight for part-time friends." He then looked out into he ocean. "I gotta save up for when I see that horned bitch again...and that boy with the green jacket...whatever he is..if I see him again...he's gonna pay for humiliating me." He said as his fists tightened.

_5 minutes later…._

Nana was leaning against a railing nearby the beach, but far away from where she ran from Bando. Her eyes were a bit red and puffy, but she stopped crying. And now she was wondering what she should do. There was another Diclonius coming...a Diclonius that she feels that is worse than Lucy...what should she do?

" _I just feel something...something really evil…_ " Nana thought with dread. " _So..what should I do? Runaway maybe?_ " But she then rejected that idea quickly, because she knew that if she was to run away, then the other Diclonius could easily track her down. " _And besides...do I really want to leave? Leave the house I went through so much to find happiness? The house...where I made friends with everyone? Including Ben and Mayu?_ "

Ben...Wait...Ben! Nana then got an idea. Maybe she and Ben can fight off this Diclonius together! Of course, she didn't really know much about Aliens in Bens watch thingie. But for what Ben had been telling her and Mayu, he was able to transform into things that were powerful...that and he did beat Lucy back at the graveyard a few weeks back...and he fixed her limbs too…

But no...she then put her head down. She couldn't force Ben to do that. She knew he wouldn't have the heart in himself to kill...she didn't want him to die for her. Of course, she didn't want to kill this Diclonius either..but what other choice would she have?

" _I have to do this on my own…_ " She thought. " _I'm sorry Ben...but I need to fight on my own and maybe I-_ "

"Nana!" The girl was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of Kouta's voice, she turned to find him, Yuka, Nyu, Mayu, and Ben all together and smiling at her.

"How long are you going to stand there and daydream?" Ben asked her.

"Yea, it's time to go back now." Kouta said to her with a smile.

Nana looked at all of their smiles, and then tears started to appear from the corners of her eyes. No one noticed except Ben, who then adopted a concerning frown. Was Nana alright?

" _That other Diclonius might be looking for me now._ " Nana thought. " _Anyone who stays here with me...will die.._ " She then wiped away her tears. "I...can't go home just yet." Nana told them. Prompting some of the others to look at her funny.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Kouta asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's just...I thought I could live like a normal girl with all of you….but I guess it was nothing more than an illusion...but it was really joyful." She said as she then looked back over the railing.

Ben was confused by what she said, and also a bit concerned...what was she talking about? Was she...going somewhere?

"Are you going somewhere, Nana?" Ben asked concerningly. "Because if there is something wrong, you can always talk to us." he said to her.

Nana looked at him again and then looked back over the railing. "Don't worry..I'm fine. There's just something I have to do...I promise that I'll be back later….so...can you all wait for me till then?" She asked.

Everyone of Maple Inn was confused by her question. But the ones who were most concerned aobut it was Ben and Mayu, they can tell that from her expression that there is soemthing going on...and it was worrying them both greatly.

"Well I mean...sure, I guess…" Kouta pondered, not really knowing what to say. "But just make sure you come back in time for supper ok?" He told her.

"Yea, please come back right for supper alright?" Yuka said to her. "We can all wait for you till then. Right?" She asked the others, making them nod their heads...well except for Ben, he was listening clearly..but there was just soemthing going on...something that Nana was not telling him or them for that matter…

"Ok then...I'LL SEE YOU ALL LATER THEN!" Nana shouted as she then started to run away from them. Making them all bewildered.

"What's gotten into Nana?" Yuka asked with concern.

"I have no idea…" Kouta said with uncertainty. "But anyway, we better get back. Nozomi will be there any minute" He told them as they all began to leave. But before they did. Kouta and Ben took notice of something in the distance.

" _A Chopper?_ " Kouta thought. " _What's that doing here?_ " He thought.

Ben, however, got a suspicious look when he saw it….he couldn't help it. But there was something going on...and it didn't sit right with him at all.

"Hey...I'm going for a walk to alright?" Ben told the others. Making the others look at him with raised eyebrows

"Not you too Ben!" Yuka scolded as she rubbed her head in annoyance.

"Oh come on Yuka, besides, I want to explore aorund the town a bit more. You know since I am new to Japan and all that." He said to her.

Yuka sighed as she rubbed her head. Seriously, these people were going to give her a heart attack with them running off.

"Fine, but please make sure that you and Nana come back for dinner. Alright?" Yuka asked him.

"Don't worry, I will." He said with a small smile. He then looked over at Mayu. "I'll be back soon, alright Mayu?"

The girl smiled at him. "Alright, Ben!" She said to him. "Just be careful ok?", prompting him to ruffle her hair with a smile.

"No worries." He said to her, making her smile at him.

"Ben!" He turned to see Nyu holding onto his hand in a way that said. "Please don't go."

"Don't worry Nyu I'll be back soon." He said. Nyu looked as if she didn't believe him..but relented anyway and let go of his hand. As he walked away from them. She still couldn't help but feel immense worry for him.

"C'mon Nyu." She turned to see Kouta looking at her. "Let's go home." He said with a smile. Nyu looked at him and blushed a bit as she then nodded her head and chirped in happiness. And with that. Everyone began to walk back to the house, Mayu looked back to where Ben and Mayu were once at and had a face of concern.

" _Please come back alright you two._ " She thought with worry.

_5 minutes later..._

Ben was secretly following Nana from behind. Having changed into Ghostfreak, he was using his invisibility to follow the girl and keep a close eye on her. He couldn't help it, but there was something that she was not telling them all. And he was concerned about it.

"Ok Nana, where are you going?" He asked himself as he continued to follow her. "But still..what kind of helicopter is that?" But before Ghsotfreak could follow her even further, he noticed a few men with guns going into an alleyway.

The Ectonurite looked at them and back, at Nana and sighed a bit. "Sorry Nana, just wait for me." He said a he then went to go stop whatever those men were going to do to those firearms

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

After the helicopter landed. Isobe walked right out of it, with him pushing Mariko in a wheelchair. Mariko was now wearing a yellow shirt with a blue skirt and tie.

"So.. you remember what we talked about right?" Isobe asked the young Diclonius. "Your body is implanted with bombs, and with the device I have I can send signals to those bombs and kill you...so you better behave." He said. Although a part of him felt great shame for doing it though.

"Also," He said. "You are to eliminate Number 7. Don't make us do anything except for what you are ordered to do, understand?" He asked. Mariko didn't answer but had a look of contempt on her face.

"So...do you feel Lucy's presence then?" Isobe asked.

"No...but I feel something else...I can sense another Diclonius alright...and she is coming this way." She said.

This made Isobe gasp with surprise. Number 7? Coming this way? They expected the girl to try to run away...but this? This was crazy.

"She's coming? But...I figured that she would be running away though…" Isobe said with shock. But as he was trying to ponder aobut this, he took notice of something coming up to them. He and Mariko got a good look at who it was they were looking at. It was Number 7 herself, panting a bit while looking at them all.

" _Wait...so that evil I sensed...is only so little!_ " Nana thought with shock. This girl...was this the evil one Nana sensed? It didn't really make any sense.

"Hey…" Mariko said to the man. "So this big sis...can I kill her?" She asked.

Meanwhile Nana was still processing at what she was looking at. She knew that she sensed evil..but this small girl...she can feel the evil in her...from looking at her, she couldn't have been stronger than Lucy.

" _But still...it can be reckless if I go in there bare-handed…_ " Nana thought. " _So I'll have to end this with jsut a single pun-_ " But she then stopped and gasped.

These girls vectors...they were able to go right up and go through her...and she was pretty far away…! At this point. Nana became a bit worried and frightened.

"But how…? Can she really reach that far?" She asked in fright. " _This is not going to be good at all._ " She thought.

Mariko however was smiling as she then used her vectors to lift up Nana's body, much to her shock and horror. "Wow..this is fun!" She said as all of a sudden

**RIP**

Mariko began to rip up Nana's clothes while holding her up with her vectors.

"LET GO OF ME!" Nana screamed in fright, but Mariko was not listening to her. This was a game and she was having a really good time. And it all came downhill as Marioko used her vectors to rip off Nana's arm and leg. Making the poor girl scream in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHGGG!" The poor Sipelit screamed in pain and anguish. Isobe was watching this with extreme dread, having to witness this torture? It was horrifying. And MAriko? She jsut still had that grin on her face...that child-like sadistic grin.

Nana, who was now crying due to the massive pain, was looking at the wheelchair bound girl.

"Please..no more…" She pleaded. Memories of her battle with Lucy at the graveyard were coming back to her and she was frightened. But Mariko then picked her up and threw her against the wall with a big thud.

Nana, was now cryign in pain. She looked up to see Mariko still laughing, while Isobe looked unsettled.

" _Chief Kurama...please forgive us._ " He pleaded in his mind. At this point he tried to stop Mariko from toying with Nana, but it was no use.

"What are you doing?" Isobe asked Mariko in an angry voice. Mariko however was having too much funt to listen. "You are only supposed to kill her, not toy with her like this!" He said.

"Well yeah...but you see, I can only kill this one right?" Mariko asked. "So killing her right now would just be a waste of time." She said. This statement made Isobe tremble a bit. This girl was a true sadist, instead of ending Number 7 right now, she wanted to toy with her...why?

Nana was looking on, blood going down her face and tears going down her eyes as her arm and leg stumps were bleeding all over. " _It's no good…_ " she thought. " _I can't..move my arm or leg...I have to find an opening and strike….Ben...I hope you can fix me again...just like before._ " But as she was trying to get up, she was hoisted up again by the sadistic girl.

"No! Please..no more!" Nana pleaded. But Mariko didn't listen as she threw her against the wall again. Isobe tried to get her to stop, but she was not listening and was having too much fun.

"Haaa Haa, this is so much fun!" Mariko said with a big grin on her face. At this point, she began to hear Nana whimper soemthing. "Hmm..she seems to have gotten quiet." She said. "Oh..but she can still move i see."

She was right, Nana was moving a little bit, and she was using the arm that wasn't ripped off to try to crawl away..but due to her being beaten down on. She was not having so much luck in doing it.

" _Papa...Ben...Papa...Ben...please...save me.._ " Nana pleaded in her mind as tears came down. " _Ben….big brother..please save me!_ " She thought while more tears went down her face.

" _She...she's playing with a childish innocent cruelty._ " Isobe thought with dread. Of course even though the orders were to kill number 7, he felt like Mariko was going too far. " _It's like a child ripping wings off of an insect._ " He thought with dread.

As he was pondering this, Nana was now looking ahead. But now she was bleeding all over, blood going down from her head to her face, and she was just looking pretty bad...and worse of all? Ben was not here to save her this time.

"Pa-pa….Ben.." She mumbled sadly as tears went down her face.

Mariko looked on with confusion as she heard thsoe words. "Why are you calling out to your father?" she asked. "And this Ben person...who is he?" She asked.

Nana coughed up some blood. "Ben...he's...my..*cough* big brother…" She said.

Mariko grinned even more. "Oh I see, your father must be the best of all fathers huh? And this Ben...he must be the best big brother of all right?" Then, her grin tunred into a frown. "My own father..he tried to kill me after I was born."

Isobe raised an eyebrow at what she said. Where did she hear aobut that? Wait...Saito...she must have told Mariko that to make the father look like scum and tried to manipulate her just to get her to like her…

"Manipuitave bitch…" Isobe muttered under his breath.

"Meh, whatever." Mariko said to her. "I'm pretty bored now."

Nana then looked up again and images of everyone at Maple Inn started to pour in her mind.

" _Just come back in time for supper alright?_ " Kouta's voice said in her mind.

" _We can all wait for you then._ " Yuka's concerned voice said in her mind as well.

"They all must still be waiting." Nana thought. "I wish I could go back there...but I can't...I can't put them all in danger like that." She said solemnly. "Oh how I can wish to eat steaemd rice with them all again.." she said. And at that point, Mariko picked her up again.

Isobe, having enough of this, ordered her to stop. "Enough of this!" He said to her sharply. "And kill her already." He said.

Mariko looekd at him and bakca t her. "Oh..right, I totally forgot." She said.

Nana was crying and bleeding. In her mind, She imagined that she was a newborn baby, with Kurama being the one holding her.

"Papa..if I ge reincarnated...will I be your true daughter?" She asked. And the image of Ben and everyoen else at Maple Inn appeared in her mind. Even Nyu. " _Kouta..thank you for taking me in and giving me a chance….Yuka….thank you for bringing me in too….Nozomi..thank you for fixing me dress….Mayu...Ben...thank you bot so much for being my brother and sister.._ " Tears weleld up in her eyes. "I _'ll love you all forever…And Luc-Nyu...I don't know what kind of past you had, but Ben told me it was something horrible...I'm sorry I won't; be albe to live long enough to find out why you attacked me that day...pleased don't let Lucy out...please._ "

Mariko then gave off a dark grin of malice

"Bye-Bye!" She said. And she sent her vectors towards Nana, who now closed her eyes and was waiting for the final blow….but then something happened

"ENOUGH!" A voice roared at them, in a bit of shock and confusion. Mariko dropped Nana and she and Isobe tunred to see the source. It was Ben, only this time...he was more than angry..he was pissed, with his fists shaking and him giving off an angry look.

"What are you doing to my little sister?" He whispered in a vicious growl.

Isobe stared at teh boy with wide eyes….that kid...he was there that day...at the graveyard.

"I asked you a question!" Ben said to them. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!" He yelled in anger, his hand already hovering over the Omnitrix dial. One minute he was stopping an attempted robbery...now he comes here to find Nana bleeding out all over the ground? This was really messed up and he would not stand for it at all.

For a moment, Ben looekd over at Mariko and felt dread. There was jsut soemthing about her that screamed danger….well no was not to time to worry, now he had to hurray and save Nana. But there was one thing on his mind...why is this girl doing this though?

"You!" Ben turned to see Isboe looking at him. "You're that boy from the graveyard." He said.

"Yea? And what's it to you dude?" Ben asked in an angry tone. Isobe sighed a bit as he then gave him a solemn look.

"Listen kid, if you know what's good for you, you will turn around and leave. I don't want you killed, but I will do whatever is necessary." He said.

Ben scoffed at this. He faced far worse. "Oh please, you think you can scare me that easily?" He asked.

Nana looked over at Ben, tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of him.

"Ben…?" She said in a hoarse voice. Ben took notice and walked over to her gently.

"Nana...why didn't you tell me aobut this?" He asked her.

"I...I didn't want you to get involved...I didn't twant….to see you die." She said.

"Don't worry." Ben said as he then activated the Omnitrix, engulfing the area in bright light. And after the light vanished, standing in his place was Clockwork.

"I will fix you up now." He said as he then pointed his arms at her and zapped her, and just like the wounds were fixing up again.

Normally Mariko would just kill who got in the way...but after seeing what this boy did….he interested her. But she narrowed her eyes at the sight of Nana's arm and leg being restored.

After his work was done, Ben turned back and fell to his knees. Why does Clockwork have to take a portion of his energy?

"Ben!" Nana said as she then got up, albeit shakily, and went over to him. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yea...Clockwork just takes alot out of me, just give me a few…" He said.

Mariko then widened her eyes. " _Did she say his name was Ben? So this boy...he was her big brother?_ " She thought, she then adopted her smile again

"Oh...so this is your big brother huh?" Mariko asked, making Ben narrow his eyes at her. "Well you don't have to worry aobut him for too long." She said. "Along with your father, once I find him. I'll help you join both of them...in the grave." Mariko said.

Ben was shocked a bit at hearing her say this. This girl..she reminded him of Nyu when she was a kid...only this time, this girl...he felt evil radiating off of her...even more then Vilgax. But even so, he was not about to let her stop him by scaring him away.

"*Snort* Oh please, you really thin- '' But before Ben could say anymore, he took notice of Nana looking at her. And her face? Well let's just say...if looks could kill, then Mariko would be dead.

Nana was trembling with fury. Not only was this girl threatening to kill Ben...the boy who became one of her first friends, and the boy who she viewed as an older brother. but she was also threatening to murder Kurama...the man who she viewed as a father figure, the man who was the only one she communicated with back at the Institute.

"How dare you…" Nana whispered in a dangerous voice as she then sent a vector right at Mariko and punched her right in the face, knocking her off of the wheelchair.

Isobe and Ben both looked on with shock and worry. Nana was beginning to walk towards her, her eyes speaking of danger and revenge.

"You want to repeat that? Bitch?" She asked in a low dangerous voice as she began to walk over to the downed girl.

"Oh jeez, this is not good." Ben thought with dread, he tried to call out to her to stop, but she didn't listen, she kept on walking over towards her, Isobe backed off, too scared to do anything about it.

Mariko was struggling to get up a bit, but then she felt something grab her and forced her to look up. She saw the face of a pissed off Nana.

"What did you say you were going to do to Papa and my Big Brother?" She said in a low venimous voice.

"Idiot." Isobe said to Mariko. "It's because you went easy on her."

"Hey jerk…" He turned to see Ben, leaning against a wall and giving him a glare. "I don't know what you or that kid wants...but I will not let you kill Nana. You hear me?"

Isobe sighed at him. "Listen kid, you really don't know what these Diclonius are capable of." He said to him.

"Oh don't give me that, I know what they are capable off, if you don't remember I fought Lucy back at the graveyard."

"You did?" Isobe asked, making Ben nod his head.

"Yea, but listen. You don't understand her though. Soemthing happened-"

"Don't defend her boy." Isobe said sternly. "Are you really trying to defend her? She is a murderer who killed alot of people."

"You don't think I know that?" Bens hot at him. "I know that and I'm not trying to defend her...well sorta..but still. I understand how and why she-"

"No...it can't be." Mariko said, making Ben and Isobe stop their conversation and look towards her. "I was doing so perfect..but she was just too fast for me to notice.." She said.

"I'm going to punish you…" Nana said in a deadly whisper, a whisper that sent shivers down everyone's backs.

Ben narrowed his eyes at her...could be...that the voice is getting to her head? But no..it shouldn't, that voice is only in Lucy's mind….is it?

Isobe was thinking the same thing, he remembered that the Director told them about Diclonius genes...but he was wondering why this change was affecting number 7 though...because Kurama once told hi that Number 7 was alot different than other Diclonii, so why was this change in her personality changing? Could it be from what Number 37 said about that boy and Kurama?

"You shouldn't move." Nana said to Mariko, as she then used her vectors to grab Mariko by the head, and forced her to look up right at her. Nana's eyes staring right into Mariko's soul. "If you try anything…." Nana's eyes then became fierce. "Then I'll kill you and bury you." She said.

Ben's eyes went wide with shock. Never would he hear the normally sweet Nana say such a thing as that. Of course he couldn't complain, as that girl threatened him and Kurama. But still, he was just so shocked at hearing her say something like this.

As Nana was glaring at the smaller girl, something touched and held onto her shoulder, she turned around to glare at whoever it was, and her look softened a bit when she saw Ben.

"Nana, don't do this." He said to her. "I know you are much better than that." He said to her.

"But...she threatened you...and she threatened Papa.." Nana said in a low angry voice. She wasn't mad at him, but she was pissed because of what that girl said to her.

"I know...but you should know that I can survive anything. I survived from Lucy right?" He asked her. Na alooked down a bit. "I promise...I won't let her harm you..or me..or your Papa.."

Nana looked at him with wide eyes. "You...promise?" She asked him.

"Yes." Ben said with a warm smile on his face. "Nana, you are too nice and sweet to kill...please don't do this." He said to her gently. All of a sudden, Nana's vectors then let go of Mariko's face as she hugged her brother figure tightly while hurrying her face into his jacket, and she started to cry in his jacket.

"I'm so sorry." She said tearfully into his jacket.

"It's alright." Ben said in a soothing voice and as he rubbed her back gently. Isobe was watching with shock.

" _This kid...he just stopped Number 7 like that!_ " He thought… " _But how is he not dead? Mariko would have killed him by now._ " This was all not making sense.

Mariko was similar, while normally she could have used this advantage to attack now, but she didn't...instead, she just watched them. And if you could see her face, it spoke of curiosity and confusion. This girl was going to kill her, but then this human calmed her down so easily...but how?

"But…" Mariko began to say, making both Ben and Nana look at her. "She was so worked up..her saying Papa..and big brother..with so much emotion.." Mariko said. "I never had a sibling...while my own father...he tried to kill me when he saw my horns." Mariko said, making Ben and Nana look at her with surprise. "He wanted to kill me…as soon as I was born" She said scornfully.

Both Nana and Ben both felt but sympathetic towards this girl. This father of hers must have been a horrible person to do that, despite her horns. Ben looked over at her and gave her a small glare.

"I understand." He said. "Your father sounded like a scumbag, and it was wrong of him to do that. But that doesn't mean you have to lump Nana's father with yours." He told her. "Did you never get any love from wherever you are from?" He asked her in a gentle voice. "Listen...I don't trust you..but if you want it...I can help you." He said.

Nana and both Mariko were shocked. Did he really offer to help her? Mariko especially, this boy was offering her help..despite the fact that she was torturing and nearly killed his little sister. Mariko was really confused.

Nana was also confused and shocked. It was bad enough when Nyu was at Maple Inn, but having this girl there as well? This was becoming a bit too much for Nana. But since this gril and Isobe was here, she would not say anything about it, not wanting to risk the residents of Maple Inn's location.

Isobe was sighing a bit as he rubbed his head. " _Both of them don't know do they?_ " He thought. " _That the idea of the papa's they are talking about is the same person….they don't know about it...and I didn't think that boy knows either._ "

Isobe was also amazed by the fact that Ben was offering to help Mariko, this was the same girl he saw kill Saito with no mercy, and who almost killed Shirakawa in cold blood. He was internally thinking that Ben would not succeed because Mariko was way too unstable.

"The boy has a death wish…" Isobe thought in dread.

Mariko stared at Ben and Nana for a few moments before talking gain. "So Big Sis and Ben...who are on good terms with eachother as family…" Her confused smile turned into a vicious glare. "YOU'RE BOTH EYESORES!" She screamed as she sent a vector right at Ben and punched him hard in the face along with Nana, causing them to get knocked back and skid across the ground.

Ben got a bit to find Mariko who was gliding in the air with her vectors and giving off an evil grin. He looekd over to see Nana dazed a bit and he looked back at Mariko

" _Damn, I guess I'm gonna have to fight. I don't want to hurt her too badly...gotta hold back a bit._ " He thought. "I don't want to fight you kid!" He called out to her.

"Well too bad." She whispered with a big grin. "Because I want to KILL YOU!" She screamed as she sent more vectors after him. Causing him to roll out of the way in time, he ran quickly for a nearby wall to take cover. "Don't think you can hide from me, you filthy human!" She said to him.

Ben was trying really hard trying to figure out what alien to turn into...sure he can turn into either Swampfire or Wildvine, but from the look at Mariko's vectors, he would not be able to land a hit on her and would get chopped up like a salad.

Wait..hit her….but she was just a small child….shoudl he really hit her? If he was to hit a child, he would feel bad for it, if it was anyone older than him, he would not mind...but this was a kid…

"Can I really do it though?" He asked himself. As he was pondering this, part of the wall he was hiding behind had a chunk cut off.

"GET OUT AND FIGHT ME DAMMIT!" Mariko said to him.

Ben sighed and breathed deeply. He had no choice but to fight, but like he said he had to go soft, so he couldn't use Fourarms...could he use Big Chill? Hmm...

"Wait!" Bens said. "I got it, maybe I could try out that new form I got from Nyu." He said as he activated the Omnitrix and selected the form. "I haven't tried it out yet..but form viewing Nyu's memory aobut her and Aiko, I saw that her vectors can block bullets...maybe it can block against other vectors too?" He pondered. "Gotta be careful and play smart in this one, she is totally different from other battles I fought."

And when he found the selected option. "Got it!" He said and he slammed the dial and was engulfed in green light.

At this point, Mariko gasped. "I can sense another Diclonius!"

"Wait, what?" Isobe asked out loud. Another Diclonius? Here? Was it Lucy?

"But…" MAriko said. "This doesn't feel like that Queen or anything," MAriko said with a surprised tone.

"It isn't Lucy." A voice said, and at that point, someone came out of teh wall and approached Mariko. This was an older girl around Lucy's age. She had pink hair in a hime cut, and wore a typical Japanese schoolgirl sailor fuku uniform. Her short-sleeved shirt being green and having a black-tie on, wearing a navy blue skirt that covered her thighs to her knees, long white knee socks, and wearing black loafers. The most distinguishing this about her was her green eyes, and the cat-like horns growing out of her skull, and there was a dial in the middle on her shirt where her heart is located at. This was Ben Tennyson's Diclonius form.

"But someone much different." she said with a smirk on her face.

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben and Nana smiling at eating some cake together_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch of Ben's Diclonius form and Lucy staring at eachother_ )

Both Mariko and Isobe all stared at the newcomer with expressions of shock and awe. Did this kid just turn into a Diclonius? How, when, and why?

" _What the absolute hell?_ " Isobe thought. Frist a big clock man. Now a Diclonius? Just what the hell is this kid?

Mariko also stared at her. A few seconds ago she was just a simple human boy, now she was a Diclonius..just like her. How did he do it? Well, it doesn't matter, because this girl or boy was going to be dead.

"Listen kid." Ben's Diclonius form said to her. "I really do not want to fight you, but if it means protecting Nana...then I will not have a choice." She said as she narrowed her eyes at MAriko.

Mariko was not threatened however as she then unleashed her vectors and she was now levitating. "You think you're so special?" Mariko asked wickedly. "Whether you're human or not...I"M GOING TO KILL YOU!": She yelled as she then sent several vectors at her.

"C'mon work!" Ben Diclonius form said as then some vectors appeared from her back and she launched herself off of the ground, narrowly missing the attack.

She looked back and watched in awe as she was now in the air. "Wow...that was actually pretty cool." She thought. "Hmmm...I wonder what I should name myself." But then she felt something coming at her and she used her vectors to swipe away Mariko's.

"But first let me try to survive first before I name myself." She said as she then ran to dodge the incoming vectors, while she didn't get hit, but the bridge was getting bit destroyed as well. Ben's Diclonius form had to make sure that she and Mariko didn't do anything that might cause the bridge to collapse.

" _Alright, remember, just hold back with each and everyone one of your attacks._ " A voice said in Ben's Diclonius form head.

"Yea...wait, who said that?" She asked herself.

" _You'll know soon enough Tennyson._ " The voice said. The new Diclinus girl was confused..but shrugged as she then began to fight back.

"Take this!" She yelled as she then sent her vectors over at Mariko. Mariko used some of her own vectors to grab onto the others, but some of them were able to get by and land a blow on Mariko. Ben's Diclonius form made sure to hold back a bit on the other girl.

"Sorry kid." She called out. "But like I? Said, if you stop now, I can help you out." the gril said. Mariko, however, looked up and gave her a wicked glare.

"I WON'T STOP TILL YOUR BLOOD IS ALL OVER THIS BRIDGE!" She screamed as she sent more vectors at the new Diclonius. Unfortunately, Mariko's vectors came so fast that Ben's Diclonius form didn't have time to summon her own and was punched in the face and stomach, causing her to skid back a bit.

Mariko grinned evilly as she looked down at the downed Diclonius. "Was this all you got? Killing you will be so easy." She taunted.

Ben's Diclinus form wiped some blood from her mouth as she then glared at Mariko.

"I just accessed this form and have no control over these arms...what the hell am I going to do?" She asked herself.

" _Bench her for the time being._ " The same voice said again.

"Wait...who are you?" The Diclonius asked.

" _In proper time I will reveal myself to you...but for now put this from of yours to the bench._ " teh voice said to her. " _Oh, and by the way...you aren't so bad...for a measly human that is._ " It said. " _And don't think I'm helping you because I like you or anything like that._ " It said to her sternly

The new Diclinus sighed a bit." Alright..if you say so." She said as he then pressed the Omnitrix dial on her chest and was engulfed in green light. Standing in her place was Ghostfreak.

"He turned back into that Ghost thing!" Isobe said. During the fight, he was amazed at this girl's abilities. Of course, he didn't tell the Director due to Kurmamas orders...but still, this boy could pose a serious threat. And now that he was able to transform into a Diclonius….this made him even more of a threat.

"Grah, Why won't you just die!" Mariko exclaimed as she then launched her vectors over at Ghostfreak, but the vectors went right through him. Making her gasp. "What? But...how?"

"I have many different forms that allow me to go intangible kid. So those arms of yours can't harm me while I'm in this form. Now I'm asking again. Just surrender and we can talk about this." He said.

Mariko, however, was not the one to hear it. With an angry growl, she sent more of her vectors at him and they went right through. She did it again...and again...and again. Until after 10 tries she stopped and breathed heavy.

"Are you going to stop acting like a brat and listen now?" Ghsotfreak asked her with his arms crossing over his chest. "Now listen. I don't know what kind fo hardships you went through in that lab or whatever, but it seems to me like you had it hard...you were possibly beaten and tortured right?" He asked her

Mariko glared at him,s he didn't want to answer him at all.

"Kid...you don-"

"Zip it! The Ectonurite said to the professor. "And you should be ashamed of yourself...you and everyone else at that Institute for treating Lucy and Nana like that." He said.

Isobe was shocked and sighed in annoyance. "What the hell are you talking about? Lucy is nothing but a monster, she dese-"

"NO, SHE ISN'T" Ghostfreak roared in fury, so loudly that it woke Nana up from her knockout session, although her vision was a kinda dazy, she did notice Ben was in one of his other forms.

"You have no idea what she has been through, and you have no idea what is going on with her either." Ghostfreak said to Isobe as he then pressed the dial and turned back into Ben. "Once I am done with her, I can discuss everything, but for right now, shut up and let me do my thing." He said. "I am a superhero after all."

Ben then walked over to Mariko but stopped halfway to give her space. "I know your life must have been hard. But you can stop if you want. Not all humans are bad. Sure there are some...horrible people out there." Ben said through gritted teeth, Mayu's stepfather, Tomoo, and the other two bullies coming in his mind.

But some humans are nice. And if you accept my help then maybe I can become the first human to treat you with kindness." Bens aid to the girl. Show as looking at him with wide eyes. "So what do you say?" He asked.

Nana was staring at Ben with widened eyes. Ben was really something….sure she was not thrilled that Ben was being nice to her despite threatening her and Kurama...but maybe...Ben might be able to help her...but to her...could she help Mariko? Ben already told her to try to be civil with Lucy..but should she be civil with Mariko?

Isobe was frowning and shaking hsi head. He believed that this boy was just asking for a death wish.

Mariko however….

**BAM**

Mariko sent a vector right towards Ben's face, making the boy fly back and skid across the ground. Mariko, who was still on the ground used her vectors to get back on her chair and grab Ben by the throat. As she brought him closer to her face, she had a face of anger and hatred.

"Do I look like I want your damn help?" She asked him bitterly. "All my life I was nothing more than just an experiment...and you want to help me?" She said as she threatened to choke Ben to death. "You can take all that talk with you...and bring it to the grave." She said evilly as she then began to put more pressure on the boy's neck. Ben was trying to use his Omnitrix, but Mariko used her vectors to keep the boy's arm's away from eachother. Ben was now beginning to choke badly as his face began to turn blue.

"Now...you di-"

**BAM**

Mariko was hit in the face by a vector, this caused her to fall out of the chair and for her to let go of Ben. As the boy was coughing and breathing hard. He saw Nana looking over at Mariko. Nana giving an angry glare at her.

"You little bitch." Nana whispered. "He offered to help you...and you spit it at him?" She asked with venom in her eyes. At this point, Nana sent her vectors into Mariko's head, just like what she did to Lucy back at the graveyard.

"Of course...I do not plan to die here at all." Nana said wickedly. "But if there is anyone whos going to die it-

"Nana!" A familiar voice said. Nana immediately let go of MAriko and turned to see the source of the noise...and when she saw who it was she was shocked. "That's enough." He said to her.

Nana's eyes went wide, and tears began to form in her eyes as she said one word.

"Papa?" She asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand that is that folks. So Ben had his first encounter with Mariko, and despite him trying to talk sense into her it did not work. And as Nana was going to take revenge, she has stopped me a familiar someone. We shall wait till next chapter to see how this all ends :)
> 
> So...WE SAW BEN'S DICLONIUS FORM! Did you all like it? So I was kinda wondering about what she would look like, and I figured that her wearing a schoolgirl suit fuku would be cute. Originally I was thinking about giving her a sundress, but the sailor suit I thought was cuter. Also, her hair...think of Hinata Hyuga's, except it's pink. Also, I was originally going to make her hair brown, just like Ben's, but you know since she is a copy of a Diclonius...well whatever lol. Like...think of Moka Akashiya from Rosario + Vampire...but with a different hairstyle, different eye color, and different clothing...and a different voice too.
> 
> Now for her voices...now I was thinking about this a lot and was thinking to myself...what would the voice sound like? So after giving it some thought. I felt like the outer Ben's Diclonius form would be voiced by Brina Palencia and for the Inner voice...I was thinking maybe Colleen Clinkenbeard..what do you guys think? Let me know :)
> 
> Now please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> I'll see you all next time :)


	21. Horrible Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back with a new chapter of Ultimate Lied, so in this chapter. Last time, there was a fight between Ben and Mariko and it nearly made teh boy die, but before Nana could step in and ill the girl, someone familiar finds them and stops. What will happen in this chapter? Tune in as we get into something emotional.
> 
> So some of ou might be confused on why Ben;s Diclinus form is female, but let me jsut say that this was always been part of the plan.

_Diclonius Institute_

Inside the Institute, Director Kakuzawa was on the phone with someone in his office. Who was he talking to?

"Yes, right." He said to the person on the other end of the line. "The plan will begin today. Trust me, this matter can't be stopped by anyone, and not even a stupid little white rat that's sniffing aorund here." He said. He was silent for a few minutes before hearing something. "Come again?" He asked as his eyes widened. It's unknown what he was told, but from the way he was gripping his arm to his chair, he was not happy.

But then he sighed and rubbed his head. "I see….don't worry, I understand." He said as he hung up the phone and looked on with an angry look in his eyes. "Kurama...you stupid idiot." He growled. "He will drown in his death for his feelings towards the girl...In order to take something, one must be willing to drop whatever it is he or she is holding….why can't he see that?" He asked. "Well it doesn't even matter now." He said as he stood up and walked out of the room.

_10 minutes later…._

Kakuzawa was now in the outside grotto along with Arakawa looking over a grave. Arakawa was still a bit hesitant and nervous about this guy….he was just so...mysterious and...creepy.

"So uh...how do you feel sir?" She asked, trying to make small talk. "Not very good right?" She asked. But unfortunately, he didn't really say anything, the whole thing was a bit..awkward to say the least. "Well, despite what I asked a few seconds ago, you seem to be doing alright, despite there being a High Atmospheric Pressure in here." She then groaned a bit. "Jeeze, how do you deal with it sir? I mean with this much pressure, there are nose bleeds, toothaches, it's all so depressing and miserable."

But then the man then looked over slightly and gave her a smirk, making her widen her eyes in surprise and a bit of fear. She probably shouldn't have said these things.

"So uh..sir?" She asked a bit nervously. "For my cooperation, you said that you would explain this whole situation right? Well..if it's alright...what's all this about?" She asked.

Kakuzawa smirked as he looked around the area. "This place...is the Eden of the Two Horned Folk." He explained. "And this is also their graveyard." This made Arakawa widen her eyes in shock a bit. An entire Graveyard? This was so...unreal. But what was this thing he was referring to as "Horned Folk?" "Each of the standing stones you see before you has no name on them. After my relatives had passed on, they had returned to the womb that once bore them into this world." He said again.

Arakawa gave him a bit of a bored look, not that she was trying to be disrespectful, but because it really found the answer to her question though.

"Uh..not to be rude sir." She told him. "But I'm not really interested in your religion." She said. " _Oh please don't kill me for that!_ " She thought in fright.

But fortunately for her, Kakuzawa didn't as he looked over at that particular stone. "This grave right here..is my son's." He told her.

"Eh?!" She asked in shock. He had his son? Her boss, buried? In this….weird place? It didn't seem right...but alas, there was nothing she could do or say about it right? And as such, he walked up to the grace and bowed out of respect for the late professor. "Professor, if I only knew you were buried here..I would have brought you a flower...and not blood leaking from my nose." She said that last part a bit sheepishly. She then felt Kakuzawa's grin at her, making her skin shiver with fright. This guy was nuts and creepy!

"So my dear...do you know about Mitochondrial Eve?" He asked, making the woman raise an eyebrow.

"Oh..right, that." she said nervously.

"You see. According to the DNA in Mitochondria, they have stated that the Ancestor to the first wave of humanity was a woman." He said, making Arakawa nod her head as if she was going along with it, even though she was a bit confused though.. "In the near future. Instead of the Humans….the Earth will be ruled by Two-Horned People. And the Ancestor..will be Lucy." He said with a dark grin. " _Lucy is a woman who will become the new Mitochondrial Eve to a new Human Race." He thought with malice. "And with her in my hands...I will become the Father and God of the New Human Race._ "

Arakawa was getting a bit unnerved by what he was talking about. What was all of this about? Mitochondrial Eve? Lucy? Earth being taken over by horned people? What Was he talking about?

"Ain't it splendid my dear?" He asked the confused and nervous woman. "That is why I must have Lucy back into my grasp, no matter what happens. And Humans will lose their dominance over this world." He said as his hand gripped the air hard.

Arakawa gulped a bit as she looked at him. "Do you mean that Lucy is the only one of a new human to reproduce?" She asked him.

"Yes, I heard that over in Sadogashima, humanity is just at the near verge of extinction." He said to her.

"So...despite this..you want to replace all of humanity?" Arakawa asked shockingly. She was pretty shocked, this man wanted to kill all the humans in the world...and replace them...with Diclonius? What The hell is going on in his mind?

"Well from the stuff you have been showing me, it seems like the crossbreeding is going smoothly." She said, albeit a bit uneasily. "The Mitochondrial Eve's offspring's numbers are growing as we speak, but the thing is...wasn't that over ThoUsand Years ago?" She asked him. "I mean you know..in order to replace all Six billion Humans with Lucy...how many years would that take?" It was a pretty interesting question. If he was indeed going to use Lucy to kill the humans...how many years would it take? He possibly couldn't just send her to travel all over the world could he?

"A year." He said to her. "It would take only one year." He said.

This made the woman shocked. One Year? To get rid of humanity? But..how could such a feat be done? OR the better question was...could it be done?

Kakuzawa still gave off the evil grin of his as he stared into her soul ." _Pretty soon, Humans will all die quietly...and the world will belong to me._ " He thought with his grin still on his face.

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

Nana was in the familiar man's chest as she sobbed into it.

"Papa!" She said, I knew you would come!" She sobbed. Ben coughed a bit as he stood up to rub his throat. He turned to see who Nana was hugging, and when he saw who it was, he was a bit hesitant. For the man was Kurama, the guy he saw at the graveyard….and the one from Nyu's dream…

When Ben saw him, he immediately felt major trust issues going on. This man was one of the reasons why Anko died, and he also taunted and mocked Nyu for it. He would have done something, but since he is Nana's father..he couldn't, and he would gladly respect his sister figure's wishes.

Isboe was also curious as to why the chiefs was here. Shouldn't he be back at the Institute? Well..it;s for the best he supposed, since he was able to stop Number 7 from going nuts.

Mariko growled as she tried to unleash her vectors on the other horned girl...but to her shock..they weren't coming out! What? Mariko tried and tried again, but still got the same results. Nothing

"What?" Mariko asked. "What's going on? Why aren't my arms coming out?" She asked in a shocked tone of voice. "Nothing's coming out!" She said she started to weep. "Tell me why!" She demanded, but no one was spying attention.

Isobe was however a bit confused as to why though. He recalled Number 7 fighting Lucy back at the graveyard….guess Number 7 did something….

Nana however was hugging Kurmama as she looked up at him. "Papa, am I a good girl?" She asked as tears went down her eyes. "I beat the girl who was being mean to me and my big brother. Are you proud of me?" She asked.

Kurama looked over at Ben and didn't really say anything. But if one could look behind his glasses, in his eyes he was silently thanking the boy for keeping Nana safe.

But now he looked over at the downed Mariko, who was looking up at all of them as well.

"You're Mariko right?" He asked. Making Nana look up at him with a confused look, she wasn't the only one though. Ben was also a bit confused by the question, did he know her from somewhere?

Mariko looked up at Kurama and stared deeply into his eyes. After a few minutes, she said something…

"Papa?" She asked.

Ben's eyes went wide when she said that question. If he had a smoothie on him, now would be a good time to do a spit-take. Kurama...was Mariko's dad? But he thought Nana was his daughter….although...could it be possible that Nana and Mariko have the same mother maybe?

Nana however was shocked and confused. She looked up at Kurama and begged for it to not be true at all.

"Please, Papa! Say it isn't true at all!" She begged, but Kurama didn't say anything, just plain silence.

Mariko however was trembling a bit as a wave of emotions was coursing through her. "They said...that you were going to kill me…" Mariko said this made the Omnitrix wilder look at her and back at Kurama with shock. "Was..was it true?" She asked.

Kurama breathed a bit before he said his answer….

"Yes, that's true." He told her simply.

Nana and Ben were both shocked. He actually wanted her killed? But why? No family member should ever want to kill their own child...so why did he do it? The thought of it was making Ben tremble a bit in fury, but he had to keep his cool.

Mariko looked down as she trembled some more. "Was it….because of my horns?" She asked in a whisper-like voice.

"Yes…" Kurama said to her.

Ben angrily looked at him. Did he want her dead because of her horns? What kind of father would do that? When he told his dad about the Omnitrix, he was angry, but then his father accepted him. So why couldn't Kurama accept his daughter because of her horns?

But….why is she still alive though? Ben was happy that he didn't kill her and he was glad that Mariko was not dead...but if Kurama wanted her dead...then why wasn't she?

But as he was pondering this stuff, Mariko asked Kurama another question. "Then...my mother….where is she?" She asked softly. This was something that Ben wanted to hear as well.

Kurama sighed as he gently pushed Nana away. "I killed her." He said to her.

Everyone was shocked at hearing this. Kurama killed Mariko's mother? Why would he do such a thing?

"No!" Nana said. "It's not true! Please tell me it isn't true, Papa!" Nana pleaded.

Ben was now looking at the man with anger and hatred growing in him. He knew he couldn;t be trusted, but now after he reveals this? Ben's trust for the man was now gone and he was glaring at him with angry eyes. Why would he kill his own wife? Or Girlfriend? Either Way, it didn't matter.

"Why…" Mariko said as she was still on the ground. "Why couldn't you both live happily? And have me with you?" She asked as some tears went down her face.

Kurama looked down and sighed. "I….was about to make a mistake." He said. And he began to tell his backstory. "It all took place when I was still a student."

* * *

_Flashback/University_

A younger Kurama was walking out of the school outside until he was stopped by a younger Professor Kakuzawa.

"Hey, Kurama!" Kakuzawa called out, but it only made the young man turn and glare at him. But Kakuzawa was not unnerved at all. "Woah, aren't you in a bad mood." He said, but got no response. "sigh* Look man, you always lose like you're in a bad mood, and it's so easy because I can see it in your facial features."

" _I met Professor Kakuzawa at the University Lab._ " Kurama's voice said.

"So anyway, I was wondering if you were heading to the lab already?" Kakuzawa asked. "Because if you are, then I'll accompany you there." He said with a grin

" _At first when I met him, my first impression was that he was way too talkative and thick-skinned._ " Kurama's voice said. " _But the more I got to know him and get along, I realized that the sensitivity he was showing was all in his head._ "

"Oh wait!" Kakuzawa said. "I think I know why you're upset." He then adopted a sly smile. "But I shouldn't be upset by it, after all, your little quest to get funding for equipment was rejected right?" He asked. The past Kurama didn't say anything, but if one could look, his fist was gripping his back tightly. "Yea..well I would be a bit pissed too if that happened to me." He said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Or…" He then said. "Was it that you didn't get your daily report done yet?" He asked.

Kurama sighed a bit before finally answering. "No..I didn't get it done." He said.

Kakuzawa smirked. "Well don't worry, I'm sure you'll get it done soon." He said with a grin.

Kurama then turned back around. "You know..now that I've met you..I dontt feel as gloomy anymore." Kurama said, although there was a hint of sarcasm in there.

"Well then! That's great!" Kakuzawa said with a big grin.

"Anyway." Kurama said as he turned to face his fellow student. "Have you finished the Daily Report? I assume you aren't empty-handed, plus it would be painful for me to see the professor losing it."

That's when Kakuzawa's smile faded and it was replaced with a frown. "Heh, unlike you ordinary people, the dejected simplicity of the professor is all nicely stored up in here. In our heads." He said as he tapped his forehead with his index finger. "Anyway, if you haven't known, the Multiregional Source is an age behind already. It's basically a theory about humanity having one single source."

Kurama looked over at Kakuzawa and raised his eyebrows. "That source theory is way too old." He said.

Kakuzawa however was not listening and brought up a new topic. "Say, Kurama, do you know about the Mitochondrial Eve Theory that was recently reported?" He asked.

This made Kurama scoff and shake his head. How stupid was he? "This is so disappointing and ridiculous, do you honestly believe to tell me that you believe in theory as fake as that?"

Kakuzawa scoffed a bit. "Oh? You think it's fake?" He asked making Kurama nod his head. "Well, shouldn't that mean that the Multiregional Source Theory is more bogus though? I mean it's all just fancy words that make people believe that humans can just evolve together again and again by chance. It's damn impossible." He took a big breather and looked at Kurama again. "That's why I believe in the Mitochondrial Eve theory because it's so simple."

Dream?" The younger Kurama thought with confusion.

Kakuzawa spoke again. "We all are the descendants of a single mutant who appeared over Two-Thousand Years Ago…" He said as he then smiled for a bit. "So, what do you plan on doing after graduation? Do you plan on staying here in the lab?" He asked.

"Yea...I am." Kurama said to him.

"Good, real good." Kakuzawa said as he then looked down on the ground with a serious expression on his face. "Hey Kurama...I want you to keep this between us and not to the rest of our colleagues, ok?"

Kurama looked at the man with confusion. What kind of secret did he have to tell him that he had to keep it away from the rest of their classmates?

"You see, my father..he has become the main center of the theory by now." He said as Kurama got confused a bit. "I mean he is creating a building called the National Diclonius Institute on Human Evolution." When he said this. Kurama was intrigued a bit, a building specializing on human evolution? That sounded really interesting. "And He is secretly assembling personel for it."

"Wait, secretly?" Kurama asked.

"Well, it's more like classified, meaning that he is using only people who he considers creditable." He said. "I mean of course, one must pass some preliminary tests to test one's loyalty. And with his official Government Status, he will be able to do his research." And Kakuzawa then grinned. "And the best part? Unlike other civil statuses, this isn't an interest priority. And like in a University he will always get some Yen. And the most important thing? IS that he will have an eye on the field's leading edge." He said.

Kurama turned away from all of this too. Kakuzawa's father was making something to explore human evolution...and with his government, he will be able to get away with it...sounds interesting, but there was something about it that seems rather..suspicious though.

"Kurama." Kakuzawa said to him ."Don't you want to see the origin of humanity? And see it grow and evolve?" Kurama looked over at him.

" _I wanted to know where we, people once came from._ " The older Kurama's voice said. " _And to research it all, it sparked my interests, and Kakuzawa was the one who invited me there._ "

* * *

_Flashback/Diclonius Institute_

" _At first I was really interested and excited…_ " Kurama's voice said. " _But when I got there...that place._ " As he said this his younger self was standing with Kakuzawa looking out, but inside he felt...unerved. " _The Institute was like a Haunted Mansion with White Walls rather than dark ones._ "

Another scene changed to one where Kurama was looking at a small horned girl being chained to a wall, she was completely nude, and with cannonballs being hurled right at her, luckily it missed her face.

But the most sad thing about this was that the girl looked sad and was crying. It was clear that she didn't want to do this at all. And if one could look closely Kurama looked like he was a bit unnerved by it, but Kakuzawa didn't seem to care.

"Two Hundred-Fifty joules clear." Kakuzawa said. "Begin to fire at Two Hundred-Seventy joules." He said.

But the girl chained to the wall was screaming in fright. "No! Please! No!" She pleaded. She didn't want this...but the guys on the other side didn't seem to care (Except for Kurama, who looked a bit disturbed by it). The machine then got ready and launched another cannonball at the girl, which missed her head by a few inches.

The girl's eyes were full of tears and were wide with fear. Why was she here? What do these men want? Why were they doing this?

"Two Hundred-Seventy joules celar." Kakuzawa said. "Now fire at Three Hundred joules. "He called out.

The girl's eyes widened even further at hearing this, when the machine starts up, she looks on in fright.

"No..please." She whispered, but it was too late as the ball came right to her.

**BAM**

The ball went right at her face, knocking her out, while blood was oozing down her face. Kurama seems to be the only one disturbed by this, and KAkuzawa didn;t seem to care.

"Hmm," Kakuzawa said ."So it seems like the amount of energy Number 3 is able to deflect is only Three Hundred Joules." He said he then looked over at Kurama who looked disturbed and snorted a bit. "Oh don't take that kind of face Kurama. Using those "Hands' ' of theirs, they can decelerate the so that way the force won;t hurt as much.

He then looked back at Number 3, who was now on the ground. "It seems that as their bodies grow more, then so do their hands, and can get stronger as well. As of a month ago, her limit was only Two Hundred Joules. Individual differences are really bid as well, but even more so, the extent of the growth isn't constant….but the main mystery is….why are the children born at the same time though?"

While Kurama was disturbed, he was also a bit curious about that as well. From what they have discovered all of the honored children were apparently born at the same time….why was this?

"And besides." Kakuzawa said. "Most of these children are around the age of Four….so what exactly happened four years ago? And what do these kids have in common with each other besides those arms and horns?"

At this point, Kurama was done hearing all of this, especially after seeing Number 3 go down on the ground. "I'll be right back." He said as he walked away.

_5 minutes later…_

Kurama and Kakuzawa were now in an office, with Kurama sitting down. Kurama also had a look of contempt on his face.

"What's wrong man?" Kakuzawa asked. "You are just as moody as you were back then." He asked.

Kurama then looked up at him, and if one could see, his face was sweating and his facial expression was akin to that of someone being disturbed.

"Look, just consider it for a moment." Kurama said, seriously. "With all of this going on, anyone would be weird out. Hell, people on the outside, if they were to figure out what we were doing, they might call us out on this." He said. All of this….it was making him worry..paranoid...what if this all got out? The community might find it inhuman, with them testing on children.

But to Kakuzawa…"Don't talk but that! "He said to him. "In this institute, we are examining samples that can;t be found anywhere else in the world. If we are to publish this, we could get a Nobel Prize." He said.

This made Kurama shocked at him further. "What the hell do you mean, Nobel Prize? Do you have any idea what people might say about us if this does get published? They might hate us...hate us for doing these..inhumane tests on living people!" He said. Kurama had a point, if this was to get out to the public, they might get called out for it...hell they might even get sent to prison for inhumane practices.

But Kakuzawa was not moved by it at all. "Idiot! There isn't any other way. Someone has to do it!" He said to him, now looking deeply in his eyes. "They might call us monsters, or demons. But we shall be valued workmen of science until we are dead." He then took a breather and looked at Kurama again. "Listen Kurama, as long as you are bothered by your own conscience, then you are only capable of doing the same things that other people do…..trust me, the things we are doing are going to be valued in the future...

* * *

_Present Day/Enoshima Bridge_

Nana, Mariko, and Ben were shocked by hearing Kurama 's story. Nana could;t believe it..her Papa couldn't have done all these cruel things..he couldn't have. Mariko as looking up at him, it was unknown what she was feeling in her head, but it wasn;t anything good.

Ben was shocked and angry, so this organization he was working for….they were doing cruel experiments on kids….young kids! This was inhumane….

"So," Ben said. "You and that...bastard Kakuzawa...have been experimenting on these kids? For years now?" He asked in anger.

Kurama looked toward the boy and sighed a bit. "Yes...I have, but as I explained, I was curious about where we humans once came from. And if you didn't hear me before, the whole time I was in there...it felt creepy."

"Then why didn't you leave then?" Ben asked in anger.

"Ben…" Nana said with concern. "Please don't be mad at Papa, I'm sure he had some reason…" Of course she didn't really know how to react to this either… She always thought that her Papa was a kind person...but now form hearing all of this….she didn' know.

"I'm sorry Nana...but I want to know why he did all of this." Ben's said through gritted teeth. "And form what I am hearing... I am not in a good mood."

Kurama sighed again. "We were doing this to figure out what the cause was of the horns and telekinetics."

"And so you used those kids as lab rats then!" Ben snapped at him angrily. "Just who the hell do you think you people are for doing such a thing?" He angrily asked.

"Ben!" Nana said, trying to calm him down.

Isobe sighed as well. "You don't get it kid, these children are dangerous to humanity,and Lucy is the biggest threat."

Ben sighed in irritation. As he was about to tell them what he knew, Kurama held up his hand again.

"Let me explain further, after all...Mariko wanted to know why all this happened…" He said, and this time there was a hint of guilt in his voice. "So let me explain before you judge, boy."

Ben glared at him for calling him boy, but he felt Nana's hand touch his.

"Ben...please?" She pleaded. Nana wasn't mad at him, she was also a bit shocked by these revelations...but Kurama was still her Papa, and she did not want Ben to hurt him in any way. Shape or form.

"Alright, Nana…" Ben said as he looked at Kurama again. "You can explain further Kurama." He said, but when he said his name, he said with some content, making Nana worry further.

Isobe was sighing to himself inwardly, this kid was going to snap at some point..and it was not going to be good.

"Very well." Kurama said.

* * *

_Flashback/Kurama's Home_

Kurama was now in his home, alongside him was a young woman, she was around his height, she had short brown hair and chestnut eyes. She also wore a blue shirt with a black jacket over it, a plaid skirt, and two slippers. This was Hiromi, Kurama's wife.

Hiromi was looking at her husband with some concern, he didn;t look so energetic, he looked rather tired a bit.

"Feeling tired honey?" She asked.

"No, I'm fi-" But Kurama then looked over at her when he noticed that her look changed into one of happiness and excitement. "What's going on? You look rather happy and giddy all of a sudden.

Hiromi giggled a bit at his choice of words, what was she hiding? Well...she was about to answer her. "Well, I have some good news for you!" She said to him. "You see...I found out that I'm pregnant," she said happily. "That's why I'm so happy!"

Kurama however….was shocked. He wasn't angry or upset, just rather shocked as all. But….how though?

"She was sterile." Kurama thought. Just how did she get pregnant?

" _She tried everything she could to get pregnant._ " Present Kurama's voice said. " _From pharmaceutical medicine, to folk remedies. And the In-Vitro Fertilization was the final thing her fragile constitution would allow. At the time...we did not know about the Vector Virus or Lucy's existence._ "

* * *

_Present/Enoshima Bridge_

As everyone was listening, some could not feel but dread when Kurama mentioned his wife. Nana was a bit curious...was Hiromi her Mama? But MAriko...she was listening...and she wanted to know.

"Wait...what virus?" Ben asked him. He was still a bit angry, but a bit calmer now.

Kurama sighed a bit as he looked at him, Nana, and Mariko. "I'll tell you."

* * *

_Flashback/ Diclonius Institute_

Kurama and Kakuzawa were overlooking the testing progress of Number 3, who was crying again due to being tested like this.

"Fire at Three Hundred joules!" Kakuzawa called out.

"NO! Please!" she called out, but was heavily ignored as the machine fired another ball at her.

**BAM**

The ball hit her right in the face, making her cry in pain again.

Kurama looked even more surprised and shocked….he could not stand to see this much longer.

"Ok, suspend the experiment." He called out, making the machine turn off. This game Kakuzawa looked at him with irritation.

"Is this grimace your feelings permanent or what, Kurama?" He asked. "Every colleague has gotten used to this, except for you." He said. Kurama didn't pay any attention, he just looked at Number 3, whose head was down and had blood going down her head. Kakuzawa sighed again. "Well...anyway I guess this is all the strength that Number 3 has. Her "hands" ability hasn't even grown at all….such a shame as well. Because as time progressed, I was pretty worried that she would be able to deflect bullets one day...but I guess, since due to the current state she is in...it's out of the question." At this point, he sighed and turned away. "Let's go, Kurama." He said

As Kurama was walking away, his eyes turned to face Number 3 in the back. And he had only one thing to say...in his mind.

" _I'm sorry._ " He thought as he and Kakuzawa walked away. But unknowingly to them, Number 3 looked up, her tear-stained eyes changed from one of fright….to anger.

_A few minutes later…._

Kurama and Kakuzawa were now sitting down in an office. Kurama sitting at his desk while rubbing his head, and Kakuzawa looking at a paper with a chart on it. The chart was showing the experiments that were subjected to Number 3. And when he saw what the chart was showing...he was shocked a bit.

"Kurama, look at this!" He said as he handed the pepper to Kurama. "It's the record we have on Number 3's Experiments."

As Kurama was looking at the picture, Kakuzawa was still talking. "I mean what do you think is up with that? I mean sure she hardly made any progress in the mentioned period, but still...don't you…"

But Kurama was not listening...no, he was still focused on the chart that he was looking at, and when he was...it made him confused... The chart on the paper went up a bit, but when it was in the Three Hundred inch area, it stopped moving up, and instead, it was now becoming a bit zig-zagged, but still, around the Three Hundred inch Area….this didn't seem right.

"These figures here…" Kuramam said as he trembled a bit. "Do you really believe in what it is telling us?" He asked

"Hmm?" Kakuzawa asked with an eyebrow raised. "What do you mean Kurama?"

"Well...hasn't her growth stopped a bit too abruptly?" He asked. "I mean from what we have seen, those balls have been going right at her face, and she has always been hit, and yet from here, it's telling us that she has been progressing….so how is it possible?" He asked. "Let's think about this for a moment...let's' just say that if she is to make us unprepared, then she is keeping her numbers low intentionally, and the-"

"Woah! Wait a minute buddy." Kakuzawa said, interrupting him. "The girl is only four years old, what, you're saying that she is intentionally letting those iron balls crash into her own face?" To be fair, it did sound kind of weird, I mean if she has those arms that could deflect things...then why would she intentionally keep having those iron balls hit her?"

"Well, don't you remember what you said to me earlier?" Kurama asked him. "When you said that using their hands are fairly decelerated and that they aren't;t as painful as it looks...?" KAkuzawa then eyed him curiosity,..where was he going with this? "So if Number 3 has been making progress this month.." But as he was about to comment on it, he looked into his computer, for some reason, the way the floor felt was..weird

"Huh? What is it Kurama?" KAkuzawa asked.

"It's just that the floor beneath us is really strange." He said. "And it is around the time of Number 3 getting her food." He said...something didn't feel right. "And since the room sin;t locked…

**BOOM**

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Kakuzawa yelled as a man burst through the door and entered the room.

"Kakuzawa!" He said urgently ."Get the guards, Number 3 has broken out of her room!" He said as he then ran out quickly.

"Damn…" Kakuzawa said grimly as he went over to the phone. "Kurama! Go close and lock the door up!" He said.

"Right." He said as he went over to the door quickly, but when he did, he saw something that made him stop and tremble a bit. Why? Because Number 3 was right outside of it, and the body of the scientist from a few seconds ago was on the ground, his head off and blood going across the floor.

The two looked at each other and it was pretty intense….Kurama didn;t move an inch, due to him being paralyzed in fear. What was she going to do to him? What did she want? Was she going to kill him?

Number # looked up and just stared at him, he didn't do anything, which made her...happy? She gave a small smile at him.

"So...you're the one who was behind the glass." She said as she continued to stare. Unknown Best to him, she used her vectors to go right into his head. What was she doing? As she did this, she still continued to stare at him, her eyes staring right into his very own soul. " I just wanted to say thank you.." she said to him, but for what though?

As he was about to ask her what she meant…

**BOOM**

The back of her head had exploded, causing blood, her brain, and bits of her skull to go flying out and landing on the ground. The girl stumbled for a bit..until she landed on the ground, dead. Kurama turned around to see Kakuzawa, who was armed with a gun in his hands and had a smirk on his face.

"Heh, well,this is the first time I put someone down….nice." He said, he then turned to face Kurama. "Well Kurama, it seems you managed to survive." He said with a smile. "I'm glad."

"What?" Kurama asked with a confused voice. "But...I thought they could deflect bullets." He said.

"They can..but not Armor Piercing Ammo." Kakuzawa said to him.

"Armor Piercing Rounds…" Kurmaam thought. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind…he was still confused on why Number 3 had thanked him….why did she do it?

" _Because I always made that unnerving look._ " Older Kurama thought. " _I always thought she thanked me for possibly being the only one who felt sorry for her._ "

The phone rang and Kakauawa went to put the gun down to answer it. "Hello?" His smile turned into one of a frown. "Oh...yea." He then put the phone down to address Kurama. "Hey Kurama, there's a call from outside the local telephone system."

"Now is not the time to receive such calls!" Kurama said. "We got two bodies here on the ground, get someone to collect them!"

"Ok….but this call is important though…" Kakuzawa said. "Your wife Hiromi...she is in the hospital."

At this point, Kurama looked over and had a wide-eyed shocked expression.

( _Eyecatch featuring Kurama standing in the middle, with Nana and Mariko standing at his sides, both girls having mixed expressions on their faces and Kurama having a stoic, yet sympathetic look_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben facing off against Lucy_ )

_Hospital_

Kurama was sitting down right by his Hiromi, who was laying down in a hospital bed while wearing a hospital gown, tears going down her face. The reason she was here? Well, she found out that she had gotten a miscarriage somehow. And now she is in sadness over it...poor woman

"I'm sorry.." she wept, making Kurama look over at her. "I tried...I tried so hard to have a child..and to think it would make me lose it...Please forgive me honey..I gave you lost hope.." She said as she continued to weep. All she wanted was to start a family with him...and now it looked like it would not happen. And now she thinks that she led Kurama on...she could not feel anymore sadder.

"Stop," Kurama said as he put a comforting hold onto her hand. "It's good that you are all well. And I'm glad to know that you can get pregnant now." He said.

"But..I lost the baby." The woman said with tears in her eyes.

Kurama leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he smiled at her. "We can try again...I promise." He said with a smile.

Hiromi looked up at him. She was so worried that he would be mad at her...but no, he was not, he was glad, glad that she could, in fact, be pregnant...of course she was upset that she lost her unborn child...but with Kuramas words...yes, they would try again.

"Yes...we can." She said as tears fell further, but this time they were not tears of sadness, but tears of happiness.

" _She would then become pregnant with Mariko a Year and a Half later._ " Older Kurama said " _But after that...is when everything went downhill..._ "

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

Both Kakuzawa and Kurama were both in the Director's office. Kakuzawa was curious as to why his father summoned them both here. The Director was facing the window with his hands beginning his back.

"As you both know, the number of Diclonius in custody is increasing." He said to them. "But unfortunately, their birthplace has not been found yet." He then turned to face the two. "But unfortunately, this Institution has its limits, and we are running out of room….in this case, I want you both to do something for me...in case any more Diclonius births happen...you are to kill them."

Kurama's eyes widened at that. Was he really being ordered to kill..? Kill Newborns? While he tried to keep his calm, but on the inside he was trembling and shaking with both shock and anger, the anger being towards the old Director.

"And in case anyone on the outside of this place wonders why just label the deaths as SIDS (Sudden Infant Defect Syndrome). It's nothing unnatural, this place is all about children after all….you understand?"

"Yes father." Kakuzawa said, even though he agreed, he couldn't help but feel some dread about doing this.

Kurama however was not really happy about doing this...this….horrid act. " _I have to kill other people's children? Even though..I want to have a child myself?_ " He thought as he was still shaking. "Will...will I ever be forgiven?" He thought.

Later on, Kurama and his assistant Oomori were inside a locker area. Oomori was smiling about something, but what of?

"So Chief!" He said. "I heard that your wife is giving birth this year right?"

"Yea…" Kurma said, but he was not in a thrilling mood, it was not because of his wife's birth, but if it was because of what the Director ordered him to do...it was still in his mind.

"And mine is expected next week." Oomori said with a grin. "If all goes well, maybe both of our children will be in the same grade!" He said with a big grin, he was really excited. "But Kauzawa is cruel, he keeps on teasing me that my child will be a Diclonius."

"Just ignore him." Kurama assured him. "You know Kakuzawa likes to tease."

"Yea...well.." Oomori said, a bit unsure.

" _We called the horned Children Diclonius, which was derived from the name given to two Two-Horned Dinosaurs._ " Older Kurama said.

* * *

_Present/ Enoshima Beach_

"So...the name Diclonius..you guys got from Dinosaurs?" Ben asked.

"Yes…" Kurama said. Nana and Mariko were awed a bit, despite them not knowing what Dinosaurs were..but the name sounded interesting.

"But wait…" Ben said as he was trembling. "So you mean to tell me...that you were killing infants?" He asked with his fists balling and trembling. When Kurama nodded his head in a greenment...well.

"RRAHH!" Ben screamed and ran over and tackled the older man to the ground. Nana and MAriko gasped in shock. Nana especially since she never saw Ben act like this before, but even more because he was attacking her Papa! "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT YOU BASTARD!" Ben screamed. "KILLING INNOCENT INFANTS? WHAT THE HELL?!" He screamed. Isobe ran over to grab Ben and restrained him, but Ben was not going quietly.

"You don't understand kid!" Isobe told him. "He was ordered to."

"SO FUCKING WHAT?!" The Omnitrix wielder screamed. "IT'S STILL MURDER!" As he was yelling Nana ran over to help Kurama up.

"Are you alright, Papa?" She asked concerningly.

"Yea.." He said. On the inside, Nana was a bit angry at him for killing a bunch of newborns, how or why would he do it? And something else was on her mind….was she one of those infants he tried to kill? The thought of it scared her. But there was still a voice in her saying that it was all lies, he would never hurt or kill anyone….could he?

Mariko thought the same thing. Was he trying to kill her? Then why was she alive?

"Just why…" They turned so they could see Ben, still being restrained by Isobe, but his head was now down as tears fell from his eyes. "Why would you….kill innocent infants? Taking them away from a life they had yet to live…" He asked as he breathed very heavily. He felt anger before...at Vilgax...at Aggregor...but to hear this….it made him angrier, it was surprising that he didn't go Four Arms and beat Kurama down, and he wanted to...but why couldn't he?

"Ben…" Nana said with sad eyes. She wanted to go over there and hug him tightly, but a part of her felt that she should save it for later.

* * *

_Flashback/Kurama 's home_

Kurama and Hrimo were in their home with the woman feeling her tummy and rubbing it, she also had a face of excitement.

"Kurama!" She said. "The baby kicked!" She said with excitement in her voice.

"How?" The man asked. "Usually babies don't kick at this stage." He said.

"but...I felt something though." Hiromi said, her expression turning into a concerned one. "What;s going on honey? Unlike the baby, you are not as lively." She said a bit,

Kurama looked a bit guilty, what was he to ruin her happiness? As he was about to apologize, she smiled at him.

"Ha! Got you!" She said happily as she stuck her tongue out at him as she rubbed her tummy.

" _As she entered a stable period of pregnancy, she became happy, cheerful even._ " Older Kurama said. " _But something I wondered on my mind...was that if she knew what I was researching…_ "

Kurama then signed a bit. "Well if you want, we can get you an Ultrasound, and see what the baby's gender is."

"I won't! "She said to him as she rubbed her stomach affectionately. "It's more fun to wait until birth." She then looked down at her stomach. "Are you a boy? Or a girl?" She asked affectionately.

Kurama smiled a bit at her, but it then turned into a frown...he was worried. What if she knew that he had to kill other people's babies...it was a thought that made him nervous and paranoid.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

The Following week, Kurama, Kakuzawa, and Oomori were all at the hospital. Oomori's daughter was finally born today...but all were shocked as to the birth...because his daughter...was a Diclonius. And the heartbroken Oomori was crying and pleading to the two fellow scientists to not kill her.

"Please! Don't do this." He pleaded.

"Oomori…" Kakuzawa said. "She has horns."

"SO WHAT?!" The man screamed at him. "She is my daughter!" He told him, his fists were balled up and he was trembling a bit. He did not want this to happen, he did not want them to do anything to her.

"Oomori!" Kakuzawa said. "Who knows what she will do once she gets older." He said. He really didn't want to do this either, but he knew that he couldn't disobey his father's orders. "Do you understand?"

But Oomori was not having any of it. "BUT SHE IS MY DAUGHTER DAMMIT!" He screamed at them. This just wasn't going through his head, but of course, who could blame ihm? No one would want this, not even parents.

Kurama was just silent and just listening to the conversation. Every fiber in his being didn't want this to happen"

"Anywho," Kakuzawa said ."It's you who will have to be the one to kill her after she turns three." He said.

Oomori was trembling again in anger, he could not believe that they were saying this….but there was some hope..he could stay with his daughter...till then..

As he said this, Kakuzawa explained again. "Once your affection for her increases...will you be able to kill her?" He asked. As he asked this, Oomori looked down and trembled, every part of his fiber being saying no, he couldn't do that to his own child. "If I were you, I would isolate her, and forget about this, you were out of luck this time around buddy."

Oomori was looking at both men with dread, his eyes being red and tears still going down his face. "How...how could this happen?" He thought. He then looked over at Kurama, who was still silent. "Kurama..did you think of it too?" He asked. "I mean...wouldn;t it change? If she is in Isolation...would it change?" He asked, hoping for some sort of miracle.

Kurama….he wanted to tell his assistant that there might be...but he knew that it would not be possible. "No, I'm sorry Oomori, but even if she was kept in isolation, it would be the same…" He said. Oomori's eyes began to show tears again.

"Let's kill her at once." Kakuzawa said to them. He then faced Oomori and had a serious look on his face. "How dark do you think that her fate would be from now on?" He asked him. "Your child can't live like a normal human." He said again, he then sighed a bit. "I'm sorry buddy, but if you really do care for your child...then your best bet is to kill her off while you aren't too attached."

Oomori's fists were clenched and trembling. How dare this...bastard say something like that? "How dare you…." He whispered before he angrily punched the wall in a fit of anger, he ignored the pain he was feeling due to his anger. "HOW CAN I, AS A PARENT, DECIDE SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" He yelled.

"You are free to not decide." Kakuzawa said to him.

Kurma was looking on and on at this, he knew that Oomori would not be able to do something like this to his own child...so he decided for him.

"I will decide for you." Kurama said. "It will be my decision." He then breathed a bit and looked at Oomori again. "You can blame me for it, I don't mind….and may you love your next child for her sake too." He said.

Oomori just cried again as he then slid down to the ground, with his hands covering his eyes as he wept.

" _Oomori, I'm sorry about this._ " Kurama thought. " _But I have to do this, the Director's orders...You may not forgive me, but that's alright...I don't think I will deserve it anyway._ "

" _I administered the drugs for his daughter._ " Older Kurama said. " _And Oomori left the lab. But soon afterward...the situation aggravated further than we expected._ "

Sometime later, Kakuzawa and Kurama were in their office, Kakuzawa was on the phone and turned his attention towards his colleague.

"Kurama…."

"What Is it Kakuzawa?" Kurama asked as he looked up at him.

"So I just got word that Number 3's mother gave birth to twins...but here's the problem….they're Diclonius again!" He said. He was pretty shocked, but from this...they might have discovered how Diclonius was born.

"So that means…" Kurama started.

"Yea…" Kakuzawa finished. "It seems like Diclonius births are not done by just some twist of fate." He said ash put his hands on his chin in thought. "There's something in their parents that is making them be born...And that's seven Diclonius children that were born so far. Worst case scenario, we could say something that teh births are a pandemic and we should isolate the parents."

Kurama was thinking about this all. His talk with Oomori and his child's birth was coming to him. He remembered the words he said about the next child.

" _Oomori lost all his chances at having another child._ " Older Kurama said. " _I often ask myself...did I make an unrecoverable mistake? After that, the births of Diclonius kept on increasing, and I was just mostly killing them...and I stopped killing them after the tenth one..._ "

* * *

_Present Day/Enoshima Bridge_

"So...you...killed them?" Nana asked. This couldn't be true, she always thought her papa was a kind man, he would never do a thing like this….he couldn't have done those things….he couldn't have.

Kurama didn't say anything, and Ben narrowed his eyes at him.

"What happened to Oomori?" he asked.

"I don't know, I still don't know what happened to him." The Chief said.

Ben sighed a bit in dread, Isobe was still restraining the boy, Isobe himself was feeling the dread. "Tell me...why did you do it? Why did you kill those kids?" He asked.

Kurama sighed a bit. "Kid, these kids would become dangerous after the age of thee has passed, the Director ordered us to-"

"Ha! "Ben snapped. "Dangerous after three? Nana is here and she is one of the nicer ones, I mean she looks Fourteen!" He said angrily.

Nana looked over at Ben. "Uh- Actually I'm-" but she was interrupted by Kurama.

"I know...but still,let me further explain…"

* * *

_Flashback/Hospital_

" _It was the night when Mariko was born._ " Kurama said. " _It was dark and rainy._ " The scene showed Kurama getting out of his car and entering a hospital, where he met with a nurse.

"Oh, hello." She said. "You are the husband right?" She asked, making Kurama nod his head in agreement. "I was talking to you over the phone, she said as the two started to walk down the hall to Hirmoi's room. "At the same time your wife gave birth, she was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, and her Cervix was removed." As they were both walking down. Kurama was silently shocked. Does his wife have cancer? And they removed her Cervix? But...was the baby alright?" Don;t worry though, the baby is unharmed."

" _Good._ " Kurama thought in relief.

"But your wife needs lots of bed rest." The nurse said as they made it to the room.

"Thank you." He said as he gripped the doorknob and opened up. When he was inside, he saw Hiromi laying down in a hospital bed while holding onto her newborn baby. "Hiromi." He said.

The woman looked over at Kurama and gave a soft smile. "Da-darling." She stuttered, it seems like she was not feeling too well, of course with what happened to her, it made sense in a way.

Kurama walked over towards her a bit, Hiromi. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here on time." He said to her. But she looked up at him with a small smile.

"No, you wouldn't have made it anyway. I had labor pains." She explained. Kurama looked at her with much concern, due to what happened, is it alright for her to be awake right now? When he asked her this, she looked away.

"Well, the reason I didn't go to sleep, was because I wanted to show you our baby." she said as she then looked down to see her child. Kurama looked down and smiled, he couldn't;t see her face, but a part of him was excited.

"You know," Hiromi started. "I'm really happy." She said as she held onto the wrapped baby in her arms. "I didn't think that I would be able to give birth by myself." Her smile turned into a sad frown as tears appeared. "I am sad that I will not be able to give birth anymore...but as long as our baby is still living, then so will I." She said with a small smile.

"Yea…" Kurama said a part of him felt upset, knowing that Hiromi would've been the kind of woman who wanted more children, and yet...she would not be able to have any more. But as long as she was alright, he would be fine too. But something made him uneasy, something about the newborn baby, he couldn't;t explain it because he didn't even see her face yet, but something felt...uneasy.

"Hey." Hiromi said sweetly to the young infant. "Say hi to your papa." She said as she then turned her newborn baby towards Kurama in full view. "She's a girl!" She said with a smile. But when Kurama saw her….his eyes went wide and trembled a bit. Why? Because his baby….was a Diclonius!

( _Eyecatch featuring Kurama standing on a hill, with Hiromi, Mariko, and Nana coming up in his mind_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Lucy's face, the left showing her Nyu half, and the right showing the vicious DNA evil smile_ )

When Kurama saw that his daughter was a Diconius, he froze up and began to tremble a bit. But...how? How could his wife have given birth to a Diclonius? How did it happen? When did it happen? Why did it happen?

Hiromi's smile faded and changed to a concerned frown. "What's wrong?" She asked him. In his mind, Kurama was remembering hsi moment with Kakuzawa and Oomori, and he was trembling. "If it's the horns don't worry about them. The doctor thinks that it's just a small skull Abnormality." She said, but that didn't help things, it just made Kurama even more shocked and nervous.

He was remembering Oomori's tearful expressions about his daughter. All the children he had killed….but then...something else came up to his mind….Number 3….At this point, Kurama put his head down.

"Sorry…" He said, as he then instantly….well I'm not going to say it, but it made Hiromi scream at him.

"STOP IT!" She screamed with all her might. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! STOP IT!" She screamed again.

_15 minutes later…_

Hiromi has now passed out, with an oxygen mask on her mouth, and she was all red. Kurama and a doctor were int eh room together with Kurama trembling, he didn;t want to do that to his own daughter….but it was on the orders of the chief…he did not like it at all.

"She needs lots of rest." A male nurse said. "What the heck was she even doing? She just had surgery done….due to that rage, she lost a large deal of blood. She is now unconscious and in serious condition. He then breathed a bit in dread. "If she loses any more blood, it might cost her her life. I am going to be honest with you MR. Kurama, I can't predict if your wife is going to regain consciousness or not."

Kurama was looking towards his wife with dread he didn't want this….but he knew that he had to….and it made him feel like hell.

"Where's our baby…?" He asked a bit of hesitation in his voice.

The doctor sighed a bit. "She is sleeping in the nursery, but she is not in good condition either. I will check her out tomorrow." He said

_15 minutes later…._

Kurama was in the nursery, looking over his newborn daughter. He felt dread...dread inside.

" _I remember back then when it was that both of us were in contact with a Diclonius, she said thanks to me...I understood what it meant._ " Older Kurama said.

As the younger Kurama was looking at his daughter a voice appeared in his head.

" _Will you kill with ease if it was someone else's daughter?_ " It asked.

"No…" He said.

" _But you can't kill your own daughter...that's the kind of man you are._ "

"No…" Kurama said again.

" _Even if you had to kill lots of children….you would love your own daughter nonetheless._ " It said it was possible that this was a voice in his head, trying to persuade him not to go through with this horrific act….but it was not working though…

"No.." He said as he then placed his hand on the baby's neck.."I'm sorry.." He said as he was about to strangle her...he heard breathing, he quickly turned around to see that...it was Hiromi! But she was not looking good, she looked weak, pale, and blood was dripping on the floor.

"Tell me…" She said, albeit weakly. "Why, are you trying...to kill our daughter?" She asked as tears went down her eyes. "You...were so excited to see her, you were looking forward to her birth." As she was walking into the room, she was leaving a trail of blood dripping from her behind on the floor.

Kurama was panting at seeing his beloved like this...in this weak state….it was making him worry.

"She is not a bad girl." Hiromi said. Just because she has those horns….she isn't bad." She said, at this point, more tears were going down her eyes, and she was not looking good, as blood was still dripping on the floor….and then...she began to tumble a bit.

"Please….darling... don't hate this child…" She said. "Please…..darling…" And with that….she fell to the ground, and with a thud...she was now dead, lying down in a pool of blood.

Kurama was trembling, and he felt his whole world crashing down on him, first, he had to kill infants, his daughter was a Diclonius...and now...his wife...his lovely wife, was now dead and bleeding out. His hands were trembling as tears began to go down his face.

"Ok…" He said as his fists trembled a bit. "I promise...just please..wake up." He said in a soft voice, when she didn't respond he knelt down, not caring if he got blood on his pants or not. "Please wake up!" He said a part of him knew that she died but another part...didn;t want to accept it. "Please...please!" He said as he then cradled his wife's body and sobbed into her shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...so much emotional stuff here folks. So This was to give a description of Kurama's back story and how he got involved in all of this stuff. Next time is when things will godown somewhat. So stay tuned for it.
> 
> And we saw Ben trying to attack him in fury over what he has been doing. OF course, can anyone blame him? Sure Kurama was ordered to kill these infants, but he could not disobey his orders. Ben was angry that he would go through it like that. But as we saw, Kurama did not like it, he did not like doing it at all.
> 
> Now regarding Mariko...I know she is a psychopath and all, but form what I read and saw through Kurama's backstory, it makes sense that the Diclonius would get their vicious traits from being treated like lab rats. Maybe they do get those instincts when they are born, but if they are treated with kindness, then maybe their instincts would loosen over time, but due to the experimentation and discrimination, it made them vicious killers. So yea, I do sympathize with Mariko a bit, because she was raised like this, sure it does not condone her actions, but it makes sense that the years of her being treated like a lab rat would make her like this...just my personal opinion.
> 
> Also, please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	22. Emotional Breakdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody, back with another update, so las time, we got to see inside Kurama's mind and see just how he got involved in the Diclonius Institute's wicked land, and we saw his wife dying...so sad...will everyone feel from hearing all of this? Let's find out
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Enoshima Bridge_

And with Hiromi's death...Mariko is all that I had left." Kurama said to them. This confession...all of it, it shocked everyone. "While I was killing random children based on a just cause..in the end, I couldn't kill Mariko." He said.

Ben was breathing heavily as he was on the ground and trying to keep his emotions in tack, while he was not happy that Kurama killed all those kids….he still could not but feel glad that he didn't kill Mariko, but Ben was still pissed off at him. Part of him knew that Kurama didn't like to do these things, but he also wondered as to why Kurama just didn't leave? This was all so confusing to him.

Nana was the same, for all her life, she always saw Kurama as her papa and a real nice man despite what he had done, but now that she found out what he has done….she was conflicted a bit, a part of her was a bit angry at him murdering kids, but another part of her couldn't stay angry with him...it was so complicated.

Mariko was face down on the ground breathing a bit as she was listening to all of this..lit was unknown what she was feeling.

"To save Mariko...I went out of my way to think of stuff, just like the demoness Hariti, I couldn't even kill a child of my own…" Ben heard in his voice that he didn't want to do these things. But was just so wondering why he did though. "And after that, it was time for the one improvement at the Institute."

What do you mean?" Ben asked him, his previous anger gone a bit, but was still filled with venom.

Kurama looked at him and said. "It is discovered that it was the Vector Virus that led to the birth of the Diclonius Children." He said. "And it only infected men, those Diclonius born are called Silpelits. And they are not able to here is only one….only one can reproduce like any other...the Queen, Lucy."

This brought out a shock to both Ben and Nana, but mostly Ben. So Lucy..or Nyu..was a queen? Of Diclonius? This..this was all new to him...Diclonius, Sipelits, everything...it was all new to him. Just what the hell kind of world was this?

Nana was in shock, never in her life had Kurama ever told her any of this...a Spliet, but the most shocking thing to hear..was that she would never be able to have any children of her own….that was any girl's worst thought.

Mariko was still silent though, not making a move or anything, she still just had her head down in the ground.

Kurama looked at both Nana and MAriko. "Your job as a Split is to spread the Diclonius Virus to help Lucy's offspring to be born and to thrive, and to overthrow humanity." He said to them. "It's in your DNA, to kill the humans of the entire earth." He said to them.

As Ben was listening to this, he was reminded of an alien species that he helped save. The Highbreed. If what Kurama said was true then the Diclonius and Highbreed had similar goals, to wipe out the humans (Well every species to the Highbreed)...but maybe….since Ben saved the Highbreed...could he possibly...save the Dicloinus in the Institute as well? He still needed to learn a bit more, but he got most of this information from Kurama...but something in him was saying that it was not going to be easy.

But back to what Kurama just said, it couldn't be true, could it? Just because of someone's DNA it doesn't mean that they had to choose right? Although….he remembered that voice in Nyu's head….maybe...could it be that….

"And that's why Mariko isn't a bad girl." Kurama said "Because there's no one responsible for giving her such wicked thoughts aside from me...I was the cause of it." He said as he put his head down for a moment and Mariko looked up at him sadly...but then...Kurama put his head back up.

"I should have killed you from the start." Kurama said as he then took out a gun and pointed it at Mariko. Shocking both Ben and Nana. "The only reason why I'm able to kill you now..is because you can't do anything without your vectors." He said.

"Hey, asshole." He turned to see Ben, with his hand on the Omnitrix. "Shoot her, and It'll be the last thing you do." He said with venom in his voice. Nana was shocked at him. He was willing to save Mariko? Even after what she did to him and her?

Kurama looked over at Ben and sighed a bit. "I'm sorry kid, but I have to do this. And if you get in my way." He then pointed the gun at Ben, who widened his eyes in shock. "Then I'll kill you too." He said.

"NO!" they both turned to see Nana, tears in her eyes, and her clutching on Kurama's jacket. "Please, papa! Don't kill Big Brother….please!" She pleaded to him.

Now Kurama...he did not want to do this, he did not want to kill Ben because he wanted to, and he didn't want to kill Mariko either. He felt that...since she has suffered a lot from all the things he has done, he felt like he was doing her a favor...to end her life….before she becomes too unstable.

That boy….he didn't want to kill him either, but he found that the boy was way too stubborn doesn't the boy care about how human life is at the brink of extinction? He didn't really want to kill Ben, but if he got in the way, he would do whatever it took, even though it might make his relationship with Nana falter.

"Try it bud." Ben said through gritted teeth as his hand was right above his Omnitrix. "I have dealt with worse things in my lifetime." He said. Ben was a hero and despite what Mariko has done...he felt sorry for her and he was not going to let Kurama kill her.

MAriko was just silent, it wasn't from Ben protecting her or anything like that, it was because she was threatened by her own father, plus that Nae Nae girl was showing love and affection for him...it wasn't fair! She Should be the one getting the love, not that Nana girl!

"Papa! Please!" Nana pleaded to him. Isobe rubbed his head in dread, this was not going to end well….not at all...

Why…" Everyone turned to see Mariko, who was looking at Kurama, who looked back with his gun drawn. "Why are you so close to her….and not to me?" She asked, her voice was a mix of sadness, betrayal, and jealousy. Ben kept his hand on his Omnitrix, he knew for a fact that another fight was going to happen. "Why...why won't you be a Papa for me?" Mariko asked as tears went down her eyes.

Kurama's gun hand trembled a bit as he looked on. Ben could see that a tear was going down his eye a bit. "I'm sorry." He said to her.

Mariko's eyes went wide. "No...this is a joke...right? She asked as more tears went down her face.

Isobe was standing from the sidelines and was sweating nervously. Something wasn't right...nothing at all. "Who-which statement is true though?" He thought. "Did the Room Monitor unfasten her? OR Number 35 did…"

Mariko had more tears going down her eyes, the mix of this whole revelation, her mother's death, her real father showing more fatherly love to that Nana girl...it was taking a toll on her.

"You know.." She started. "I have been waiting for this..for a long time." She said. "I was always eager..in that dark place...that romm which was all pitch black...I was always eager...to meet my mother...and my father...and even if it's true that he is trying to kill me….I as all alone in there, I was not able to see a thing, not being able to move, not even for a little bit." At hsi point, her tears were becoming more intense.

"But the only thing that was in my mind the whole time...was the thought of the three of us living together in happiness….yet you….my father….actually tried to kill me that night when I was born…" At this point, a piece of the bridge got dented. Isobe and Ben noticed this and got worried.

"Shit, there'll be a moment when I will have to detonate-" but Isobe's thoughts were interrupted by Mariko who…

"RRRAAAAGGGGHHHH!" She scrambled as her vectors spiraled all around her, causing the wind current to pick up alot, and everyone had to cover their faces. Kurama Dropped his gun as he saw the anger and expression on his daughter's face. "IF YOU WERE GOING TO KILL ME THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU ALLOW ME TO BE BORN?!" She screamed in fury as her face was now one of extreme rage and furry. "IF I CARED FOR NOTHING THE WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL ME THEN?!" She screamed again.

" _M-Mariko…_ " Nana thought sadly, of course, she was a bit angry for what she did to her and for what she did to Ben, but from hearing this story...she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

Isobe was not freaking out, he took out his phone and got out the setting for when to detonate the bombs in Number 35's body.

"For what reason...did I have...to deserve….such a harsh life?" Mariko said in a low, dangerous, voice. A Voice that almost made her into a demon.

"Number 35, stop! Or I'll ha-"

"SHUT UP! Mariko screamed as she then sent a vector right at him and sliced off his arm!

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

Shirakawa, who was back at the Institute was somewhere in the lower areas, walking through an empty hall. After a few minutes of walking, she finally came upon a door.

"Finally…" She said in relief. "After all the struggle I went through..I finally made it…" She said as she then took out a keycard. "So many troubles to obtain this…" She said in a desperate and nervous voice. As she put the keycard into the door's slot, she breathed a bit. "No matter what happens I need to hinder the Director's plans.." She thought.

Finally, she slid the keycard in, and the door opened. When she entered it was a secret room, but what kind of room was it?

" _So this is it.._ " She thought. "This is the true form of the human murdering demon…" she said with anxiousness. "Got to figure out a way to stop it." she said as she went over to a nearby computer and clicked on some keys. But when she looked up those specific materials she was looking for...the computer said Empty.

"No…" she said as she started to sweat nervously. "This can't be." she said as she pushed some more keys, but all she got was the same word...Empty… "Why? Why is it empty?" She asked frantically, this just didn't make any sense.

"Why, you ask?" Said a familiar voice. "Because it's close to completion, my dear." Shirakawa's eyes went wide as sweat began to go down her head and face.

"No...it couldn't!" She thought. Standing behind her at the entrance was Director Kakuzawa, giving her a dark, malicious grin.

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

"GGGHHHHHH!" Isobe yelled as his entire arm was now on the ground, blood oozing out of his wound and onto the ground. "MY ARM! DAMN YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH!" He screamed loudly as he clothed onto his arm stump, which was oozing out lots of blood. Ben, Nana, and Kurma are all shocked at this display of brutality. Ben the most, him breathing heavily as his hand fell on the ground…

"You betrayed me…" Mariko said as she stared right at Kurama, eyes wide, tears going down her cheeks, and giving a very angry look on her face. "I always trusted you…. I always wanted to see you….AND YOU THREW IT ALL AWAY!?" She screamed and asked at the same time. Ben, while still starting at her, still couldn't but feel bad for her, all she wanted was to have a life...but Kurama...and those bastards at this facility refused it to her, and it made her into this.

Isobe, while still writhing in pain, took notice of the cell phone that was on the ground near him, and through his pain, he crawled towards it a bit. " _It's time…_ " He thought. " _If I don't put in the passcode soon, Number 35 will explode in three minutes, and will take all of us! In three minutes...somehow…_ "

Mariko was now staring at Kurama, Ben, and Nana all with her face darkened and tears still going down her eyes. Ben had to do something..or try to do something.

"Mariko!" Ben called out, everyone turned to face him slowly getting up.

"What the hell you doing kid?!" Isobe said to him. "You;r going to get killed!"

But Ben ignored him. "Listen to me, I know your life has been hard...but please believe me when I say this. Things usually get better, and I know that if you stop all of this, maybe you can get a better day too." He said to her. "Please...let me help you." He said.

**BAM**

Ben was sent flying to the ground. With Nana looking in horror. Ben groaned for a bit but then started to gag as he felt his throat being held by a powerful force and worst of all? His arms were benign too, so he couldn't;t even reach for his Omnitrix.

"Save me?" Mariko asked in a whispering voice. "You think you can save me your human trash?" she asked dangerously.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Mariko turned to see Nana, who sent her sending a vector punch right at her while sporting an angry look on her face, but Mariko, who had more vectors than her, stopped the punch and used her own to grab the girl's neck too.

Kurama was watching all of this and despite not showing it, he was panicking, first, his real daughter sliced off his assistant's arm, and now she is choking on the girl who he viewed as a daughter and she was choking on a kid who had a weird transformation ability. What was he going to do?

"Hey, Papa…" Mariko spoke in an emotionless voice. "Would this girl's death sadden you more than my own death?" She asked. Kurama didn't respond and Mariko turned to face Nana.

"Hey, Big Sis...would this boy's death sadden you alot?" She asked.

"KYAAAAAA!" Nana screamed at MArikow as applying pressure to her choking.

"St-stop t-this…" Ben said weakly, but MAriko also put pressure onto his own neck too, making him cry in pain. " _Damn!_ " He thought. "I _can't even reach for my Omnitrix…." As he said this, he felt his vision blur a bit….oh no…"I guess...this is where I die then…._ " He thought to himself as he slowly felt his life fading away and the images of his friends and family, including the ones here in this world, appeared. " _Paradox, Azmuth, Mom, Dad, Gwen, Kevin, Grandpa….Julie...thank you all so much for everything….and Kouta...Yuka...Mayu...Nana...Nozomi….Wanta...thank you all for taking me in and for everything...and Nyu..or Lucy...I'm sorry I was not able to save you from that Voice….I really am...some superhero I turned out to be..._ " He thought as he felt it...

**BOOM**

A sudden explosion made Mariko drop Ben and Nana at the same time, both of them coughing up storms and rubbing their necks. Ben quickly got up and ran towards Nana, he knelt down and helped her.

"Nana, are you ok?" He asked concerningly.

Nana opened her eyes and saw Ben, this made her eyes a bit watery and she hugged him tightly.

"Ben! I'm so happy you're ok!" She said as she hugged him close to her. Ben hugged her as well and wrapped his arms around her, the two holding each other in a tight embrace. Kurama was watching this and found it really said anything, but what exactly was he feeling though?

"Jeeze, helping you out is a pain." Said a familiar voice. Both Nana and Ben broke front hir hug to figure out who it was, and to say the least they were surprised.

"You!" They both said together, who was their mysterious figure? Bando!

Yep! Bando, the hard-ass former soldier, had arrived and saved Kurama, Nana, and Ben. How? He used a bazooka. He walked up to them, weapon in hand.

"Bando!?" Kurama asked in a confused tone of voice.

"Yay, you decided to help!" Nana said happily. "Ben look!" She happily said. But when Ben And Bando saw each other they both adopted frowns.

"Oh shit, it's you again." Bando said with annoyance.

"Yea...same to you bud." Ben said through gritted teeth. Nana was a bit confused, but she would decide to ask questions later though. But she was a bit shocked that they knew each other already

Bando sighed and looked over to where Mariko was at. "Listen, I'm only here to help out this brat." He said to Ben. "But you're on your own!"

"Fine with me.." Ben said as he glared at him. "But don't you think a bazooka is an overkill? Can't you just knock her out?" He asked. Bando glared at him.

"Why don't you let me handle the big boy stuff, ok kid?" He asked as he armed his bazooka again. Ben wanted to use the Omnitrix to stop him, but his arms were hitting form where Mariko held onto them, guess she put pressure on them too much.

"HAVE ANOTHER YOU PSYCHO BITCH!" Bando yelled as he fired another rocket from the weapon, as the rocket was going right at Mariko, she glared right up.

"To me, such things are…" she said as she then used a vector to stop the rockets much to everyone's surprise. "Are so.

**BAM**

A bullet flew towards the Missle and struck it, Bando smirking.

"Ha, guess you lost bitch." He said. And as MAriko realized anything...the whole rocket exploded, causing the bridge to blow up a bit and leave a large cloud of smoke in place. Isobe was sent flying on his back in pain and blood going down his head, and Mariko..well she didn't look too bad, but she was a bit bruised up.

"Wha-what the hell?" Bena skied as part of his clothes were ripped and had blood going down his cheek, showing that he took some damage. He was gripping onto his arm as well as he got up, albeit in pain

"Hey!" Bando said to them. "You all better get the hell out of here, while you still can!" He said to them all. "And boy!" He said to Ben. "As much I would love to kick your little ass for that humiliation you put me through on the beach, you should clear off too!" He said.

Ben looks at Bando with surprise, did he just seriously say that Ben could leave? Well either way he was not going to stay, he was going to stop this somehow.

"Papa! Ben! Quick, let's go!" Nana said to them both, making both males surprised.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Isobe was laying down, breathing heavily while looking up at the sky.

"Tough luck you little monster." He said to Mariko, you won't last two minutes here." He said as he breathed heavily again. He might not make it, but at least...he can go out knowing that this little demon was taken care of. " _At this rate, even I won't be able to make itl_ " He thought. " _But as long as Number 35 dies...I have no regrets….sorry Chief._ " He thought with sadness. At this point, he saw a shadow looking over him and despite his vision being a bit blurry, he saw that it was Number 35: Mariko, standing over him. " _Shit!_ " He thought. " _I guess...my life is over now._ " He thought.

Mariko then leaned into him, but what was she doing? Well, she was...grabbing his belt?

"Woah, what the hell are you doing?!" He asked the girl as she got his belt and took it off. Just what the hell was she going to do to him? He closed his eyes possibly thinking that she was going to beat him to death with it….but after a few seconds, he felt something...he felt something wrap around his arm stump. He opened his eyes to see what was going on, and to his surprise. It was Mariko who was tying his belt around his stump, trying to stop the blood flow.

"Is it better now?" Mariko asked him as she turned back around, "I don't have anything against your arm, but I do know that you people have my arm as well." She said. All of this was confusing the hell out of Isobe, first, she sliced off his arm, and now she saves him? What the hell was going on?

Mariko then heard some beeping and peered to the ground, where she saw Isobe's phone still going off on that timer. She picked it up and inspected it. "Those bombs in me…" She said to him as she looked up at the sky. "How long do I have before they explode in me?" She asked him.

Isobe, while still not confused, sighed a bit and answered for her. "About a minute left before they explode." He explained to her. He felt like the bombs were not necessary at all, but what choice did he have?

Mariko continued to look up as tears fell from her eyes. "The sky is so beautiful…and the color is so much different from before" She said, mesmerized by the sky's presence. "Thank you...sir." She said, making Isobe a bit confused. "In the end.. I guess it was good that you bought me out here, I have no regrets now…" Tears began to spill from her eyes as she gave a sad smile. "Because living like this….I understand that nobody will ever love me...not even my own father...who wanted me dead…" She then wiped her tears away for a bit. "I'm ready now...I don't want to live anymore in this screwed up world."

Isobe looked at her solemnly, he heard the words that Ben kid said earlier….maybe...he might be able to give her some hope….maybe...that Ben kid could help her somehow…

"Don't talk like that." Isobe said to her. "No one can say if you'll truly live happily from now on... it's up to you to decide whether or not you can do it." He said as he took another breath. "Just...I'll give you one more chance, then just apologize to your room monitor….and maybe...that Ben kid...maybe he can help you if he helped out Number 7...then maybe he might be able to help you to." He said.

Mariko looked out onto the ocean...that Ben kid...there was something about him...something unique, but she shook her head though. "I can't..it's far too late for me." she said solemnly. "I killed so many people...and Papa will never forgive me now, no matter how much I'll beg...he'll never forgive me...that Ben person...he's a fool for wanting to help me."

"Don't talk like that." Isobe told her. "If you truly feel like this, then you can start anew, maybe Kurama can get you away from all of this and you can both go someplace else and live happily...and that Ben kid...i don't know about him, but maybe he can try as well." He then groaned a bit as he felt his right hand, which, despite it still benign attached, it was in massive pain. "Damn, even in my right hand as well.." He thought. "Hey!" He said to Mariko. "Hey, get the phone!" He said to her. "I already can't use my hands, and since you're the one who has it, you can put in the passcode instead!"

"Enough…" Mariko said. "Thank you….But because I don't regret anything…."

"Dammit!" Isobe yelled. "You can think about it later! Just press the numbers that I'm about to tell you!" He said to her. "The code is #353574! Push them in now or else you'll die!" He frantically told her. "DO IT!" He yelled.

Mariko then turned around, gone were her sad, tearful eyes, and were replaced with a face that spoke of pure malice, and grinned wickedly at him. Making him look surprised.

"You're really stupid." She said with a vicious grin on her face. "Thanks for telling me the code though, even though that heavy hit that broke your hand was entirely my own fault." She said to him.

Isobe then realized that Mariko was simply using him to pay into a trap. " _Shit….I screwed up big time…._ " He thought.

MAriko leaned back and smiled. "Bye-Bye." She said as she then used a vector and sliced off Isobe's head, turning him into a blood sprinkler. As his head landed in the water, MAriko looked at his corpse with a wicked grin.

" _I'm gonna kill everyone here...But the ones I'm gonna enjoy the most...will be Big Sis...and that Ben person._ " She thought wickedly.

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben and Nana confronting Mariko_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben and Lucy facing off against each other_ )

_Diclonius Institute_

Director Kakuzawa was now standing in front of the window looking out. And Shirakawa? She was on the ground next to him, naked, laying down on her chest and was twitching and sweat coming down her head? What did Kakuzawa do? Well, I don't want to go into full detail, but let's just say that Kakuzawa did some horrid things to her to get some intel for why she was sneaking around, but Shriakwa did not reveal anything and the mad Director stopped.

"So, Kurama has gone off to find Number 35." He said as he wiped his hands off. "He's ordering SAT soldiers and several police to move out under my orders…"

"Pe-perhaps." Shirakawa said as she trembled a bit...he planned ..to kill Number 35…?" She suggested.

"Maybe...but what he doesn't know is of the bombs inside Number 35's body." He said with a grin on his face, making Shirakawa look up in shock.

"But those bombs…" She started to say. "But he bombs inside Number 35 is always at our-"

"And yet, you never mentioned it to him did you?" The Director asked with venom in his voice silencing the already scared Shirakawa.

" _Why was he doing that?_ " She thought to herself. "After doing such a thing, he will not be able to get away with only a disciplinary charge…what if he…"

"Maybe…" Kakuzawa interrupted. "Kurama wants atonement…*sigh* I swear, he is too naive for his own good. But whatever, today I will proceed with today's Experiments." He said as he looked back to the window.

"To-today?" Shirakawa asked in a nervous and terrified voice. "But weren't those planned to start in a half a year from now?"

"They were...but since they're reports of a spy in our organization...the plans have changed, plus we had already distributed false info to our possible spy." He said. Shirakawa was biting her thumb in nervousness as sweat was going down her head.

" _I shall rejoice...for today._ " Kakuzawa thought with a dark grin on his face. " _Today is the day where the human race will all die._ "

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

MAriko was still on the bridge putting into the codes that the now deceased Isboe provided for her. "One, to three." She said as she didn't he buttons. "One, two, three, four… I guess this will have to do." She said with disappointment, unfortunately, she could not stop the bombs from blowing up inside, but she was able to reset the timer, so it was better than nothing..sorta.

Meanwhile, Ben was shocked seeing such destruction, he did not see Mariko or Isobe, but his instincts were telling him to go over there and make sure they were alright, but before he could he was pulled by the arm by Nana.

"Ben! We have to go!" She said as she was pulling on him. Ben did not want to leave Mariko behind, because he wanted to really try to help her, however, he can.

"Nana, let me go!" Ben's aid as he was pulled on by the younger girl.

"Papa!" Nana said, still clutching Ben's arm. "Let's run away!" She said to him, but the older man simply had his back turned on them, he looked back and knew..what he had to do.

"Nana...you and the boy get away." He said to her, making her and Ben confused a bit. "I can't leave Mariko behind." He simply said to her.

This shocked Nana very much, she saw how dangerous Mariko was, she almost killed her and she almost killed Ben, she didn't want her papa to die. "Papa! She'll kill you!" She pleaded to him.

Kurama however was not moved at all. "Even if she does...I can't let her kill anyone else, I will not allow it anymore." He said.

Nana stared at him with awe, he was...really willing to risk it all, so that no one else would have to die. "Papa…." Nana whispered in awe.

Ben looked down and was in deep thought. What was he going to do? He wanted to try if he could get through Mariko one more time, all he had to do was try….he just had to try.

"Kurama!" Ben said to him as he was finally out of Nana's clutches. "If your staying, then so am I!" Ben said to him in a determined voice, this made Kurama and Bando look at him with confused looks. But Nana? She was not supportive.

"Ben, no!" She said, grabbing his arm again. "She already tried to kill you once, I don't want it to happen again!"

"Nana, please." Ben said to her, but Nana was not buying it, her eyes were beginning to tear up.

"Please….You're one of the few people who care about me...I don't want to lose you either...please.." She pleaded to him. Ben looked into her eyes and saw that she was genuine, but he still wanted to do something though…

"Kid." Kurama said to him. "I promise, I will not try to kill Mariko, I am going to try to stop her from doing all of this carnage. I am having you and Bando take her away from here." He said.

"Wait, what?" Bando asked in a shocked tone of voice. "Why the hell should I listen to your orders? If I mess with you, then it's just going to cause trouble for my balls!" He yelled, still remembering that he was being threatened of castration due to him having the virus.

Kurama sighed a bit as he then looked back. His face was now one of desperation. "Please...I beg of you...both of you." He said and he turned to face Ben. "Since she calls you a big brother, I am hoping that you will be with her and protect her as an older brother would." He said.

Ben was torn up over this, of course, he wanted to stay and prevent any bloodshed….but Kurama was begging him to protect Nana...the girl Ben viewed as a little sister along with Mayu. Ben sighed and put his head down.

"Ok..I'll goes with her." Ben said. Nana looked at him with shock.

"Ben!" She said with desperation.

"Nana," Ben said as he looked at her with a solemn look. "I don't wanna leave him either, but he is right….plus I am promising him that I would protect you, and protect you I will."

"Then I'm staying here too!" Nana said as she turned back to see Kurama. "Papa...he was the only one nice to me in that facility..and I don't want to abandon him….I am a bit...hut over those deaths he caused...but he still practically raised me in there...I owe it to him!" She said. Sh wanted or run away..ubt if Kurma was going to stay, then so was she.

Now Ben was the one who was tearing up, this was all starting to get to him so much, he wanted to prevent the death of somebody…and he wanted to stay and help Kurama somehow….but he also wanted to protect Nana as well...what was he going to do?

**BAM**

Ben was shocked to see that Bando had knocked Nana out with the butt of his gun to her head which knocked her out.

"What the hell did you do?!" Ben asked in a surprised yet angry tone of voice, not really liking how Bando hit Nana.

"She was being troublesome." Bando simply said as he picked the girl up and held her under his arm. Ben grumbled under his breath as the two males looked back at Kurama. "So, what will you do huh?" Bando asked Kurama. But then...they heard something.

"What's that noise?" Ben asked, and all of a sudden the wind under them was picking up a bit, they looked up so see that it was a police plane, looks like someone called in the police or something…

"Shit!" Bando said. "Kid, let's get the hell outta here!" He said as Ben got to his senses and was about to take off until they were stopped by Kurama, who then took off his tie and gave it to Ben.

"Give her this for me.." Kurama said to them as Ben looked at him. Ben...Ben still did not like Kurama for what he did….but he didn't want to leave him here alone...but he would respect his wishes and leave…. "Ben," Kurama said to him. "Take care of her, please."

Ben nodded his head solemnly. "Ok Kurama, I will." He said, and with that, he, and Bando began to take off, taking a knocked out Nana with them.

Kurama looked back on the bridge to see Mariko still standing there...it was either now..or never, and at that point, the helicopter came and a bunch of officers came piling don, all of them wearing body armor and wielding weapons.

"What's all this now?" Mariko asked as she used her vectors to bring herself to the other side of the bridge, and she saw a lot of armed men pointing their guns right at her, with Kurama standing in the middle.

" _I'm sorry Ben._ " Kurma thought. " _Mariko is just way too dangerous to be kept alive..and I did not want you to get involved…I hope that one day, you will understand._ "

"Chief Kurama." Said a soldier. "We just wanted to inform you that Enoshima has been sealed off, proceeding at 18:20. Requesting permission to proceed as planned."

Kurama looked to see Mariko, in his mind he saw her smiling and waiting at him…. "Affirmative." He said, but he was trembling a bit though…"Until it;s time, you are to stay covered, got it?"

"Roger!" The soldiers said together as they all pointed their guns at the younger girl and loaded them up.

"Father…" Mariko said as her fists trembled a bit. "Do you really want to kill me this badly?" She asked as tears came out of her eyes. Even If she did want to kill everyone...she was still upset. "Because I was born out of love….I was not supposed to be like this." She said.

Kurama didn't say anything, but he stood there and was trembling.

"ATTACK!" The Soldier yelled as he and his men fired several rounds of ammunition into Mariko, who did not look amused and simply used her vectors to protect herself.

Kurama was remembering his wife's words, about her being happy that she was having a baby...and then he remembered when he attempted to strangle Mariko as a newborn….all of these were not sitting well with him...and it made him tremble and sweat.

Mariko was still deflecting all the bullets off of the soldiers, but she was kinda wondering who exactly three people were though…

Meanwhile, there was worship in the ocean And they put all their targets on their destined target.

"Prepare to fire Harpoon!" Yelled an officer on the ship and another officer pushed a button, which made two rockets shoot out of the ship.

Back on Enoshima Bridge Mario was still deflecting bullets. Kurama was watching all of this and ordered for the attack to stop.

"ALL HANDS DRAWN!" An officer yelled and all the soldiers stopped firing their weapons. MAriko was a bit confused but also was shocked to see Kurama comin up to her,

"I'm so sorry...Mariko." He thought as he walked closer to her.

Mariko was a bit confused, why did her father come over to see her? Was he going to kill her or something?

"Wh-why did you come here?" She asked him as some tears began to fall from her eyes. Was she doing this purpose? OR was she faking to lower his guard? "I'll have to kill you." she said to him.

"Whether it be a human warmth or love...I snatched them away from you." He thought as he led out his arms...and bought the girl in for a hug, he wrapped his arms around her back and some tears were going down his eyes. "I really didn't make any mistakes." He said in a soothing voice. "If I had killed you back then...I would not be embracing you as I am right now." He said as he rubbed her head in a gentle way. "Mariko...I love you from the bottom of my heart, and your mother...she loved you so much as well." At this point, Mariko was stunned, and yet….more tears came from her eyes. Did she..finally get her father's attention?

"Let's' be together...forever." He said to her. This made her even more stunned.

"Re-really?" She asked in a hopeful voice. "Me too…" She said and as they hugged again...something came crashing down on her in front of Kurama. It was a large missile strike and it landed on the girl right in front of him. Kurma didn't say anything, but he was trembling though, most likely from sadness and shock. He then looked up to see another one coming right at him.

Then...he saw an image in the metal part though...it was Hiromi, his wife. " _Hiromi…_ " He thought. " _I'm sorry for keeping you waiting...don't worry, pretty soon, Mariko and I will be joining you…_ " A tear fell from his eyes as he closed them..preparing to meet his demise, and the rocket landed down...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow...so much stuff going on right now folks...So Kurma explained everything and Ben...well Ben is not happy about it, but then Mariko started to attack again dn nearly killed Bena and Nana, but thanks to the last-minute arrival of Bando, they were saved. However, Isobe was murdered by the girl and reset the bombs codes in her. Noe Kurama had ordered the others to flee while he dealt with the girl...what will happen next time? We'll have to wait and find out.
> 
> In my opinion, while Mari was a killer, we can't help but feel bad for her, after all, Kuram tried to kill her and he had her locked up for a long time and never bothered to visit while he only visited Nana instead. Of course, in my opinion, he should have done a bit both, but maybe...Mariko might've been more like Nana maybe? I don; know I am just expressing my personal thoughts here, what are your thoughts?
> 
> I swear I don't know if Ben has ever dealt with something like this ever in his life, and he will find himself questioning everything in future chapters.
> 
> Anyways, please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	23. Unexpected Tunrs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everybody, so last time on Ultimate Lied. Kurama confessed to everything, and he attempted to kill MAriko, much to Ben And Nana's objections. In a fit of anger and fury Mariko attempted to kill both Nana and Ben right in front of him. But thanks to the last-minute arrival of Bando, she was unsuccessful, then she manipulated Kurama;s assistant Isobe not given her the code for her to stop the bombs in her body, and once he outlived his usefulness...she murdered him in cold blood. Kurama ordered Bando and Ben to take Nana far away from the battle and they did it, of course, it was reluctantly on Ben's part. Now with a police rmada at her. Kurama walked over to her to give her a real loving embrace...but then a missile strike came and crashed at them. Did they survive? Will Ben and Nana be able to save them? Let's all find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Enoshima Park_

Ben felt horrible, really he did. He left Kuram to deal with a powerful monster by himself, and he had to take Nana somewhere to safety. Every gut in him wanted to stay and save Kurama and defeat Mariko, but he would respect Kurama's wishes….but he felt so horrible for leaving Kurama to most likely die.

" _Some superhero I turned out to be.._ " Ben thought as a tear came out of his eyes. He felt bad too...he wanted to try to help Mariko really much...but that girl...she was filled with so much anger and hatred….so why couldn't he fight her? Was it due to her being a small kid? Or was it due to her backstory? He didn't know..everything was so confusing..it was like everything was crashing down on him.

"Hey, kid!" Ben's thoughts snapped out when Bando smacked him upside the head to get his attention. "Listen, you heard him, he will deal with that little psycho bitch by himself, let's just get this one to safety first."

Ben would usually be mad for him referring to Mariko as a little bitch...but after what he saw...maybe he was right..sorta.

"Uh...wha-?" Nana said as she was groggily getting up. Ben looked over and frowned a bit when he saw her, he was not mad at her..but he felt sad...because they were leaving the man she viewed as a father behind...and it made him feel horrible too.

"What?" Nana said she noticed that she was being carried and was running away. "STOP!" She screamed as she then tried to wiggle out of Bando's arm. "Let me go! I have to save Papa!" she said.

"Shut it…" Bando said in a calm voice, from the tone of it...he felt somewhat a bit guilty as well for leaving Kurama behind…"Here." He said as he then put Nana down and presented her Kurama's tie. "Treasure it, it was a memento of your fathers." He said.

Nana took the tie and held it close to her chest, she looked up at him a little bit. "Memento?" She heard that word before..and it was not something good. She turned to Ben, who looked down and had a regretful expression on his face.

"He..seems like he was going to die..to protect us all." Bando said solemnly. This made Nana's eyes go wide. No..thsi couldn't be happening….she turned to face Ben, who looked down and saw a tear go down his face.

"NO!" she screamed as she then took back off from Bando and ran the other direction, most likely heading back to the bridge.

"Wait stupid! Don't go!" Bando yelled at her. Ben looked back at her and at Bando and was breathing heavily as sweat was going down his head. He breathed heavily as well and he decided to take off too.

"Don't tell me you're going back!" Bando said to him.

"I am and I will, I will protect Nana!" He yelled as he took off as well, leaving Bando behind looking appalled.

"*Sigh...shitty kids you both are.." He said as his hand became a fist.

Ben was getting closer and saw those missiles down there. His eyes went wide and he trembled a bit when he saw them..this was not good at all.

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

Nana ran all the way back to the bridge and saw a large posse of police officers and two large missiles in the ground. But she did not care about those, all she cared about was her papa.

"Whe-where's papa…?" Nana asked. A soldier looked over at her for a bit and turned back around.

"If you're talking about Kurama...he...he's down there...underneath the missiles." He solemnly said to her.

Nana….well her eyes went wide. No..that was not true. She tightened her fist, the one where he was carrying Kurama's tie and trembled a bit.

"No…" She whispered."No…" She said a bit louder. "NO!" she yelled as she ran right for the missiles and ran up to one hoping to move it. "Don't worry, I'll get you out papa!" She said frantically, but then some soldiers stopped her.

"STOP!" One soldier said he restrained her. "IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!"

"SHUT UP!" Nana yelled frantically as she tried to wrestle out of the soldier's arms. "LET ME GO!" She yelled. "I KNOW PAPA IS STILL ALIVE, I KNOW IT! PAPA! RESPOND PLEASE….PAPA!" She yelled out frantically.

Ben had finally arrived down to where the others were and as shocked to see what he saw. Two Large missiles in the ground….but they didn't do anything though...no sound or anything...but she got distracted by Nana screaming about Kurama being down there, underneath it all. And Ben fell down to his knees….he should have listened to his gut and stayed behind to help the man. Sure he was pissed off for what Kurama did...but Ben still wanted to save him though from a horrible death….and he couldn't…

Ben looked at the site and trembled, his body shaking, the sweat and blood going down his face, Nana's creaming and all that...the guilt rising in him….it was all too much.

"AAAAGGGGHHHH!" Ben gave a scream into the heavens really loud, so loud that the birds flew by and the soldiers all covered their ears. Nana did not respond due to her being so focused on Kurama. Ben then fell down and his hands touched the ground, tears coming out of his eyes. "What kind of hero am I?" He asked as he lowered his head. He saw Nana pleading and felt even more guilty. "Nana...I'm so sorry… He said through whispers.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

It was already night time at Maple Inn...and everyone was getting worried, Mayu and Nyu especially. Where were they? Are they alright? What had happened to them? All of these questions were in Mayu;s mind and were making her a bit worried and scared.

"I'm starting to worry about them." Yuka said in a worried voice. "I mean they should have been back hours ago! Ben has a watch on his wrist, so he should have been back!" Yuka said, and while she was being a bit brash, in her voice there was some concern and worry in there too.

Kouta got up. "I'm going to go look for them." He said getting up. Yuka looked at him with concern.

"Do you want me to go with you?" She asked.

"I'll go!" Mayu said. "I'm worried about Nana and Big Brother." She said.

"No. You guys stay here alright?" Kouta said as he got up.

"Come!" Nyu said standing up. "Nyu come too!" She said she said.

"You want to come as well Nyu?" He asked her, making the horned girl nodded her head rapidly. "Well...ok then."

"What?" Yuka asked ihm, ``Why her and not any of us as well?"

"Because NYu would eventually just follow me anyway." Kout asiad. Yuka sighed a bit knowing that that's the truth. "Anyway, we should try out Enoshima first. That's; where Nana was going, and maybe Ben might be there too." He said as he and Nyu both got up.

"Kouta...Nyu.." Yuka said, making the two look over at her. "Please take care, alright?" She asked.

"Yea..dont worry." Kout asia with a small smile.

"YEA!" Nyu said enthusiastically.

"I hope you all come back safe and soon." Nozomi said with a small smile. Mayu looked down at the table and worried.

" _Ben...Nana...please be ok...please be alright._ " She thought. " _I can't help it..but I feel something...might have happened….but I can't think those things...I can't._ " She thought. But with her trembling and all that...she was worried...worried as hell...

* * *

_Kurama's Mind_

Mariko and Kurama were now standing across from each other Mariko smiling at her father and Kurama smiling down at her.

"Father...what is this place?" Mariko asked, a bit confused.

"I don't know." He said, "But maybe it's the pathway..to heaven I suppose." He said to her.

Mariko looked up as his eyes widened a bit. "So...does that mean we'll''' always be together then?" She asked him.

"Yes...now c'mon, let's go to your mother now…" He said with a warm comforting smile. This time he was finally going to die and hopefully he, Mariko, and Hiromi were going to live together happily in the afterlife…

"Ok…" MAriko said to him, but then began to walk away by herself, Kurama tried to follow her...but for some reason he could not move, it was as if he was stuck in place or something...what was going on? Mariko looked back and gave him a sad smile. "But unfortunately, we can't go together….because this is where we part ways." She said in a solemn voice.

Kurama was shocked at her. "Bu-but why? MAriko! "hEs said, but it was no use. She began to walk away, with him shocked and having some tears go down his eyes. "Mariko.."

"Papa…" a disorientated voice said.

"Mariko…" Kurama sisad again.

"Papa! Papa!" Another disorientated voice said.

* * *

_Real World/ Enoshima Park_

"PAPA!" Nana yelled as she shook him to wake him up. Ben, who looked up to see what Nana was yelling about could see it all, even though his eyes were all red and blurry from crying. When he saw that Kurama was not a mangled mess. He started to smile a bit.

"Yes…..yes…" He said as tears came down his eyes again. A part of him was still angry at Kurama for doing those things to children….but he could also see that Kurama loved his daughter very much….could he be able to forgive him? He wondered…

Kurama meanwhile woke up and opened his eyes to see Nana looking at him, tears going down her face.

"PAPA!" Nana shouted as she hugged him tightly. "I'm so happy you're still alive!" She said as she buried her face into his shirt and cried into it. Ben walked a bit closer to discover that the area where Kuram was in had a large hole in it….did...Mariko save him? She had to!

" _So...she protected me then…_ " Kurama thought. "Nana…" Kurama said as Nana took her head out and looked up at him. "What about Mariko?" He asked.

Nana stopped crying for a moment and looked down with a sad solemn outlook on her face. "She….she's dead…" She said as she looked down a tear going down her eye. She knew that Mariko was dangerous...but she was hoping...that she would accept Ben's help...so that maybe she could live a good life to…

Ben heard all of this and put his head down. He knew she was dangerous...but he...he at least wanted to try to save her though….and if that didn't work...well...he didn't know what he was going to do...all he could do was feel like crap.

"I'm s _orry about your loss, Kurama._ " Ben thought to himself as he put his head down and began to offer a silent prayer, hoping that God will forgive Mariko and allow her into the afterlife to be reunited with her mother.

***CREAK***

Everyone then turned to see that a part of one of the missiles was breaking apart. Ben saw this too and quickly began to regain his composure and put his hand on the Omnitrix, getting ready to fight off whatever was coming out. A piece broke off and a figure was coming out of it..and who was it?

"Mariko?" Kurama asked with a shocked tone of voice. That's right, Mariko was getting out of the missle, it seems like she used the vectors to protect herself as well as Kurama, and now she was using her vectors to get out of it. She landed with grace and had her head down.

" _But…._ " Nana thought. I don't sense her presence anymore…" She thought. "Could….could it be?" Ben walked up next to Nana, and looked at Mariko...for some reason...something;t seem right. Right then and their….Mariko had her face up...

"Myu?" She asked in a confused cute baby-like voice. This made both Kurama and Nana a bit shocked and confused. But when Ben heard it, his mouth immediately dropped to the ground.

" _No...freaking..way…_ " Ben thought with shock.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

Director Kakuzawa and Arakawa were walking together down a dark corridor. Kakuzawa kept a straight face, but Arakawa wasn't due to the immense cold.

"Damn, it's so freeing down here!" Arakawa complained as she rubbed her arms rapidly to keep them warm. "So what is this all about?" She asked the Director, "Why did you bring me down here?"

Kakuzawa simply looked on and smiled. "Because I'm going to see to it that you look over the experiments from now on. For it's your name that'll go down in history." He said to her.

Arakawa looked at him with unease and anger. "So..you're finally revealing your true colors huh?" She thought with anger.

"From now on….we are going to destroy every Homo Sapien on the planet." He said. "So..do you feel ready my dear?" He asked.

"Huh?" Arakawa asked. "What do you mean sir?" Something in her gut told her that it was not anything good at all.

Kakuzawa smiled at her. "Are you ready to destroy all humans?" He asked her as he looked at her. Arakawa was sweating at this question, she wanted to object...but she had to play along or she might get killed.

She gave off a small smile and looked at him. "Isn't it obvious sir?" She asked. "It's an honor to be invited to do such a thrilling thing to do." she said, a part of her was yelling her to stop acting like that..but what other choices could she have?

"Good." Kakuzawa said, not really noticing her snarky voice, or simply didn't care." Now come with me in here." He said as he took out a keycard and swiped it on the scanner, the doors opened up to reveal that this was the same room he caught Shirakawa in. Arakawa's eyes widened a bit, never had she seen anything like this before, and she was looking at the thing in the center.

"Wh-what is it?" She asked, a bit nervous.

Kakuzawa smirked. "This my dear, is a thing that will put an end to human history….a living thing." He said as he walked on ahead of her, and her still standing in her place. A living thing? What Kind of thing? This whole thing was making Arakawa a bit nervous as well…

"Living thing…?" the woman said. "You mean like a nuclear weapon?" She asked.

"Oh no my dear." Kakuzawa said. Humanity cant just be reduced by nuclear weapons alone, as a few would possibly survive, and to those who do indeed survive, would just raise the numbers again." He said to her. "You should try to study a bit more on history

"Oh...ok…" Arakawa said, a bit uneasy though…"Soo ah are you going to do?" she asked.

Kakuzawa smirked at her as he went over to the wall and put her hand on a button. "You'll see my dear." He said as he then pushed don't the button. By pushing this button two large metallic arms came down and went inside that large metal thing. Steam coming out of it as it began pulling something up. When Arakawa saw it, his eyes went as wide as a saucer.

"This….this is…" She said with widened eyes and sweat going down her head with nervousness and shock.

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

Ben was on the ground in shock. Mariko...she just said those words...You...the similar words that Nyu had said when he met her….

"The accident..it made her..act like Nyu…!" Ben said with surprise. And he was not the only one who was surprised. Nana and Kurama were shocked as well.

When Mariko turned around and saw Kurama, she smiled big. "DADDY!" she screamed in joy as she tried to run over to him, but unfortunately she tripped on a rock and fell flat on her face. She slowly got up and began to tear up. "WWWAHHHH!" She cried as he put her hands on her eyes.

" _She's...acting like a baby…_ " Ben thought with shock. " _Just like...Nyu!"_

Meanwhile, Kurama was walking away from Nana's side and walked up to the drowned girl, he knelt down and put his hand down to gently lift her head up to face him.

" _Why did this happen?_ " He thought with shock as Mariko looked up at him and wiped a tear away.

"This...this is like with Lucy." Nana said with awe and interest. "She felt the same way as well." Ben had told her that something might have happened to Lucy that made her act like a child, could this be similar?

Ben was thinking the same thing, he thigh that something happened to Lucy that made her act in a similar way, he thought that maybe she felt so guilty about the murderers that she might have repressed those memories to do it...but now that he was thinking about it...he was wondering if something like this happened in actuality that might have happened.

Kurama, who had heard Lucy's anime and his head perked up a bit. "Nana, have you seen Lucy?" He asked her.

Nana put her head down. "Yes..but I couldn't fight her when enacted like that, but she always tends to come back once in a while…" She said.

Ben got up and walked over, he had heard all of this and he put his head down..he knew what was going on with Lucy..why she was killing people...but should he tell Kurama? He was nervous because if he did tell him that that would make his drive to kill Lucy even greater….Ben was angry with the girl for killing people...but at the same time, he could not blame her, after all, it was discrimination and the manipulations of that Voice that made her like this.

Kurama looked down at the now defenseless Mariko, who was snuggling into his leg with a big smile on her face. Kurama was sweating a lot now….he could do it now...he could put an end to it all. He got out his gun and pointed it right at the young girl

"NO!" Ben tried to stop him but a few soldiers held him down. Ben struggled to break free from them but was not used. "Get off of me you bastards!" He said to them.

Kurama looked down at Mariko, her gun pointing at her as she was still smiling. " _All I ever wanted...was to watch you grow up..as long as I could._ " He thought as he began to imagine Mariko growing up, her going to school, getting good grades….all of it made Kurama's eyes water up as he closed his eyes. "I'm sorry." He said.

"NO!" Ben yelled at him, but Kurama didn't listen. And he was about to pull the trigger until something happened. The gun in his adjustment broke apart. Kurama looked at it with wide eyes and turned to Nana, who had a solemn look on her face.

"I'm sorry Papa...but you shouldn't kill your own child." She said to him.

"Nana….oh thank god." Ben said as he sighed in relief. Nana then saw the soldiers and gave them an angry look.

"And you...leave my big brother alone." She said to them. The soldiers then quickly let go of Ben And he got up. Ben walked over to them and he ruffled Nana's hair.

"Thanks? "He said to her, Nana smiling at him in return while giving him a hug, which he fondly returned.

Kuram saw this and looked back at Mariko and sighed heavy. "I know…" He said, gaining their attention. "I know it's wrong to kill your own child...but I...I can't let her kill more people." He said.

"Kurama." Ben said, prompting the adult to look at him. "You say that Diclonius have a genetic in them to kill when they get older right?"

"Yes." Th mean said, not really knowing where this was going.

Ben sighed and looked at him. "Just listen, maybe you do have a point there….but have you ever thought that maybe….just maybe that it might also be the experiments and other shit that you and everyone else at the place do to them?" He asked seriously. "I mean if people face discrimination like that and are treated like shit, then its more likely for them to get pissed off and go crazy and start killing people."

As Ben said that. Kurama looked down...taking the boy's words in.

"I mean I know I should hate Mariko for what she almost did to me and Nana, and for what she did to that Isobe guy, but at the same time should we really blame her? From what you said and from what she has said. She suffered a hard life in that place, all the experimentation you guys did to her...dodon't you think that might have been a reason why she went crazy and tried to kill us all? Rather than just a genetic drive to code?"

Kurama looked at him and back at Mariko, who was nuzzling her face in Kurama's neck and he didn't say anything.

"Like...I don't know...maybe Diclonius do have that generic drive to kill..but maybe if they were treated with kindness...then maybe that kindness would override that genetic code and they would begin to act like we normal humans." Ben said. "Like let me give you an example. Nana was in that facility, right? And yet you treated her with kindness and looks there now. She is the nicest girl I ever met and she is like my sister. Don't you think that...if you visited Mariko and offered the same kindness...maybe she wouldn't have turned out so bad.." He said

" _Plus.._ " Ben thought. " _While I don't know yet..but if Lucy..or Nyu is the supposed Queen of this species...then maybe the Voice...maybe the Voice has something to do with it as well._ " He thought.

Nana looked up at him and looked down...she remembered that Kurama was the only one who treated her with kindness a lot while she was a prisoner in the facility….if he did not show her kinds….could she have ended up being a killer herself?

Kurama sighed as he still continued to look away.

"Does a good father kill his daughter because they were bad?" Nana asked him. "Because a good father teaches their children what is right and wrong, right?" She asked him. "I mean..just because she has horns...why should you take it for granted that she won't be good just because she has horns?"

Kurama still looked down at Mariko who was calling him daddy and hugging him tightly as a little kid would. Ben had to admit that it was pretty cute...even though she had tried to kill him not that long ago…

"I mean...I'm sure you can get along with her!" Nana said as a tear was going down her eye. "Even if she does have horns on her head...then she can live with people!" She then turned to Ben. "Right, Big Brother?" She asked him.

Ben smiled a bit and turned to face Kurama. "I think so too...I mean I know she is not herself right now...but maybe if she indeed ever comes back to her senses...you could sit with her, tell her that killing is not right...and if you continue to treat her right...them maybe she might feel some remorse for what she had done, and hopefully she could do something to find redemption…there are some people who deserve a second chance...and even though she tried to kill me….I believe that she deserves a second chance...what about you Kurama?"

Kurama turned to face the two of them and back to Markio..her smiling at him while still hugging him tightly. He smiled...it wasn't big but he gave a genuine smile and patted Mariko on her head.

"Indeed…" He said. "It can be as you say, Nana…" He said to her.

Nana looked at him with a smile as her eyes went bright. Ben felt the same thing too.

"Ben..." Kurama said as he looked at him. "Your words...I feel like they are true to an extent...maybe if I did visit MAriko often s I did with Nana...maybe she would not have ended up like this...it's my fault that she almost killed you." He said.

"Well...now you have a chance to make things right again." Ben said to him. "And if she stays like this you can teach her, and if she returns to her senses...then you can teach her again what is right and wrong." He said.

Nana had a few tears in her eyes but it was not tears of sadness, these were tears of happiness. She might be able to live happily now..with Kurama...and possibly Mariko? IT would be something she would have to get used to...but she felt happy...

"Yea.," Nana said with a smile. "Nana, Papa…., and-"

"ROOM MONITOR!" A familiar voice yelled. Causing him and everyone else to turn to the source of the nose to reveal Shirakawa arriving and walking up to them all. And she did not look happy at all. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" She yelled at him.

"Who the hell is that?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow, making Nana shrug her shoulders at him.

"The Director's plans are scheduled for today!" She said to him. Making Kurama's eyes wide.

( _Eyecatch featuring a child-like Mariko playing with Grey Matter_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Wild Mutt giving Nana and Mayu a ride on his back, making the girls smile in awe_ )

"Today…?" Kurama asked shakingly. Ben and Nana both noticed that sweat was going down his face and he was trembling a bit as his eyes were wide as saucers. "But the plan..was supposed to start in five months!" He said.

"What plan?" Ben asked him. But Kurama and Shirakawa ignored him and continued to talk.

"It was a lie." Shirakawa told him. "The plan was on the schedule all the time…" She said to him with dread. "And as long as that missile is launched is not stopped.."

"Then all of Humanity will fall…" He said with dread.

"WAIT!" Ben screamed. "What the hell are you people talking about? What Missile? Why Is humanity Going to fall? Someone talk to me!" He pleaded.

Kurama and Shirakwa looked at him, and Mariko hid behind Kurama, afraid of Ben's anger. Shirakawa sighed and looked at him.

"Alright...I'll explain what I saw." she said to him.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

So what was that object Arakawa was shocked at? Well..it was a big tank, a tank filled with a purplish-pink clear liquid.

"That...that's…!" She struggled to say.

"Yes my dear," Kakuzawa said. "This is the essence of the Vector Virus Culture Essence Fluid." He said to her, and he began to explain. "You see, if the glass in this tank breaks..let's say, above the Tokyo Bay for instance, the vapor in the wind would spread and it would infect over Twenty-Million people." He said.

Arakawa's eyes widened in the fight. Twenty-Million people? That thing is powerful enough to infect a whole country!

Kakuzawa was not done however. "But the people who have been infected, they will not show any signs of issues or problems. Hell, they won't even notice a thing…" His smile became wider as he looked at the tank with such...fascination. "And this is why the virus will be srepad, unnoticed." He thought darkly. "And in Ten months...as every child that has been born will be shown with her son their heads, it will be then that humanity will realize that it was the cause of a virus for the first time ever." He said. "But unfortunately for them..it will already be too late though...because in Ten months, the virus will spread throughout every nation, country, you name it." His grin became darker. "And once those Diclonii have become adults….then they will slay every human being on the planet."

Shirakawa was stunned, to think that a virus like this had enough power to spread through the earth! She was both intrigued..but also scared and worried.

"Well..uh...… what could we do with the Diclonii alone?" she asked him. "I mean if it springs the world-"

"Isn't it exciting , my dear?" He asked her. "We shall simply disseminate this and then..all of humanity will shut up and collapse under the Diclonius….and today...today will be the Diclonius History's first day...with your name carved in history." He said.

"Wait..did you say..today?" Arakawa asked in a nervous, frightened voice. "So..um...what part foy u plan is in that bottle there?" She asked him.

"Oh no." Kakuzawa said. "You see, the essence in that bottle is the very first to destroy our fellow humans, and it has an appropriate direction as well." He said to her.

Arakawa gulped a bit as more sweat was going down her face. "Direction you say, huh?" She asked. She did not like where this was going.

"Exactly." Kakuzawa said. "You see, in a few minutes, a rocket that is bearing a merryweather satellite will be ready to launch from Tanegashima Island." He said. "But the satellite is nothing more than just a dummy. For you see, there are ten cartridges of the virus inside the rocket."

As he was explaining all of this, Arakawa was beginning to become more nervous and frightened, how crazy was this guy? She wanted to leave...but knew that it might have ended up with her getting her killed though..

"And so after the rocket has been launched, then there will be an accident that will happen once its passage has gone over in the high altitude over the mainland." He said to her as he was still looking at his dark evil masterpiece. "And then so that it prevents it from crashing...then it will cause the rocket to self-destruct in the sky over Tokyo Bay."

Kakuzawa then turned to her, his face now looking inhuman, his smile as wide as a demon he sees glimmering with evil. Arakawa was unnerved and frightened by him. "For you see my dear." He said. "Exactly Twenty Million capital city area residents will become the first human sacrifices to the virus."

Arakawa's eyes widened as he said that….so many innocent people….being killed off, like pigs in a slaughter….

"Only a few minutes until launching time, my dear." He said to her. "This beacon is inextinguishable...humanity will fall by my hands." He said with a dark grin. "It will fall by this massive rocket...and nobody can stop it..not even God himself!" He said with a wicked grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, boy folks...so much stuff going on in this one huh? So Mariko and Kurama both survived but Mariko has been reduced to that of a predicament similar to Nyu. And he and Nana both stop Kurama from killing her like this. But Shirakawa comes and tells them what is going on and Ben will explain everything.
> 
> Meanwhile...Kakuzawa had shown Arakawa a massive rocket which holds ten cartridges of Vector Virus essence, and is going to use it to spread all through the world. Will anything stop it? We shall find out next time.
> 
> So what do you all think of Ben's talk to Kurama like that….you think he might try to convince him to let Lucy go too if he tells him what happened to her? All we can do is hope, right?
> 
> Also please do not forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	24. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everybody, so last time, Ben had discovered that Kurama and Mariko had survived a missile strike, but the attack left Mariko in a baby-like state similar to Nyu. As Kurama was aobut to kill her, Nana and Ben stopped him, Ben had told him about the possibility of discrimination the Dicloniu shad felt and Nana told him that he should not kill her because of her horns. Meanwhile, Kakuzawa had shown Arakawa a large tank that consisted of essence from the Vector Virus, and announced his plan to infect everybody by using it in the air. Will Ben be told of the director's plans? And will Ben stop the missile in time before it explodes? Tune in and see.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Kamakura Streets_

Nyu-nyu!" Nyu said happily as she was skipping down the sidewalk. She and Kouta had left the house to go out and find their two missing houseguests and it was already dark outside.

"You sure are in a happy mood, huh Nyu?" Kouta asked her.

"Yes!" She said with a smile on her face.

Kouta chuckled a bit, but then became serious again when he was walking to Enoshima. "Jeeze, how far could Nana and Ben have walked?" He asked. "I sure hope they're alright…" He thought with worry.

"Ben and Nana hurt?" Nyu asked innocently and concerningly.

Kouta turned and sighed. "Let's hope so Nyu...but I'm sure they are alright though." He said. This made Nyu a little bit better, but not a lot though. All she could do was be worried about Nana and Ben.

Ben….whenever his name was said, Nyu felt something in her stomach...something in her stomach was doing flip flops at the sound of his name and her face was always heating up whenever he was near. But she was so confused a bit about these feelings and hoped to get them figured out soon.

"Nyu!" Kouta said, snapping out of her thoughts. "C'mon, we're almost there." He said.

"Nyu!" She said and the two continued to walk, but then Kouta took a look over across the bay and his eyes went wide as he saw something in the distance right at the other end of the bridge.

"What the…?" He thought.

_5 minutes later…_

Kouta and Nyu were now amongst some people who were being blacked by yellow tape and police officers standing around.

"Excuse me." Kouta said. "What's going on?" He asked.

A man turned around to face him. "Apparently they are saying that a rocket fell somewhere nearby." He said.

"What, what?" Kouta asked with a shocked tone of voice.

"Yea...must be an act of terrorism or something." the man said as he turned back around. Kouta was really nervous and scared, he was hoping that Nana and Ben were both alright

" _Damn, there's no way over there._ " Kouta thought. " _We're gonna have to find another way over to Enoshima._ " He thought as he tried to figure something out. " _Ben...Nana...please be alright you two._ " He sighed and turned to face Nyc. "Alright, Nyu, let-Nyu?" But when he looked over, she was leaving over the railing and looking at the other side of Enoshima. "Nyu? Wha-

"THERE!" She yelled out loud to him, making the boy startled a bit. "NANA AND BEN THERE!" She yelled as she pointed.

"What? Where?" Kouta asked her to look over where she was looking. "Nyu I don't see-" But he was interrupted as Nyu took off right for the line.

"Nyu go get them!"She said as she then jumped right over the line, making everyone startled for a bit.

"Idiot!" Kouta called out. "Come back here, Nyu!" Kouta called, trying to reach her but he was being blocked. "NYU!" He yelled out. With police officers going to stomp her.

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

Everyone was listening to Shirakawa as she was explaining what the missile she was talking about. Ben, Nana, and Kurama were all shocked by what she had told them.

"So you're telling us…" Ben started. "That at some point tonight...that a rocket field with this virus stuff, is going to launch in the air, and will blow up over the eastern side of Japan...where 200 Million people will be infected?" He asked.

Shirakawa nodded as she tried to keep calm in the whole situation. "Yes..and in time..humanity will fall in five years." She said solemnly. Ben looked down, this guy...was going to kill humanity? What kind of person does that? The only one who would draw delight in killing humanity would possibly be Vilgax or Aggregor, and those two were not even human. But this guy...this Kakuzawa guy...he was human and he hated his own kind? This guy...he sounded like a monster, a monster Ben would put him in ranks with the likes of the two mentioned enemies Ben had.

Nana was horrified at hearing this, while she never met a man in person, but heard stories from Kurama. She felt that humanity did not deserve this, they did not deserve it one bit. The thought of so many good people dying..it made her angry and sick to her stomach.

Kurama looked at her, and down at Mariko, who was still holding his leg. He sighed a bi and turned to face Shirakawa.

"No, it won't." He said to her, making her and everyone else look up at him. "The launching should be stopped somehow." He said while holding onto Mariko with a strong grip. "However...at this stage, there's nothing we can do though, professor Kakuzawa's plan is also ruined. He said.

Shirakawa looked down and apologized. "The director must have known all along." She said. "I don't describe myself as a spy...I wanted to gain some intelligence by sucking up to the Director..but the information I got...was all false though...I'm so stupid." She said as she put her head down and had some tears go down her face.

"No!" They turned to see Ben, who had a determined look on his face. "Tell me what time this missile launches...because I'll stop it." He said to them, making them all look at him as if he was crazy.

"Kid, your kidding right?" Shirakawa asked him. "You can't stop a missile like that."

"I can and I will!" Ben snapped at her. "I will not let this bastard kill anyone, not while I'm here!" Ben said as he stood his ground. Kurama looked at him with disbelief, sure this kid could transform into weird creatures..but he doubted that one of them could stop a missile launch.

"Kid….how do you plan on stopping a missile strike?" Shirakawa asked him. "Are you going to fly up there and stop it?" She asked rhetorically.

Ben gave a cocky grin. "Damn right I am lady, just tell me when the missile will launch and I will do it, you watch." He said. Shirakawa sighed, this kid really had his mindset on doing this…..

"Well I don't know, I was not able to find out before Kakuzawa captured me, so I guess you need to look up and see if a missile is in the air."

"Got it." Ben said. Nana could see some people shaking their heads or muttering under their breaths about him being stupid or imaginative and it made her angry.

"Hey!" Nana said to them. "If big brother said he can stop that missile thing, then he can! I believe in him even if you want, he saved me two times, I know he can save us all from the missile, I know it!" She said defensively to everyone.

Ben sighed and placed a hand on Nana's shoulder. "Eas up little sister." He said to her. "They don't believe I can do it? Well, I'll just prove them all wrong." He said to her. Nana looked back and smiled in response.

"Anyway," Kurama said, trying to get back on the topic. "Kakuzawa's plan is still lacking one key factor though...the key being Lucy herself." He said, Ben and Nana both gulped and sweated with nervousness. "Even if humanity falls, the Lebensborn Project won't be completed without Lucy, As long as that underground pond is nothing more than a radiation hell." He said.

" _Underground pond? Lebensborn? What the hell are these people talking about?_ " Ben thought. " _I need to learn more about this!_ "

"Well, yea…" Shirakawa said. "But Kakuzawa still has other Diclonii in disposal...so if he finds Lucy earlier then-"

"No." Kurama interrupted. "We'll find Lucy soon." He said. As Shirakawa looked on in confusion, Kurama turned his attention towards Nana and walked up to her. "Nana, do you know where Lucy is at?" He asked her in a calm voice.

Nana was sweating a bit nervously. Could she tell him where Lucy is? Ben had told her something happened to her that made her into the killer she is today...but Nyu...Nyu was different than Lucy though….and she didn't want her friends at Maple Inn to get targeted...What is she going to do?

"Nana, please, you have to tell me." Kurama said to her. "You have to tell me, or else this world will turn into something terrible." He said he needed to find Lucy or else horrible things would happen.

"No, it won't Kurama." They turned to see Ben, giving a determined look. "As long as I'm here, then nothing horrible will happen to this place."

"Stop with the bravado kid!" A policeman said to him. "You're just some kid, what can you do?" He asked,

Ben chuckled a bit and gave a cocky grin. "I can do anything, all you have to do is believe in me." He then turned to Kurama. "Let me deal with Lucy….let me deal with the missile, and when this is all over..let me deal with Kakuzawa." He said. "I...I know why7 Lucy is killing people." He said, making Kurama raise an eyebrow.

"I already know why." Kurama told him. "Because she is the queen and wants to get rid of humanity." This made Ben sigh and rub his face.

"It's not that dude." The Omnitrix said. "I know the real reason why she kills people." He said. A part of him didn't want to say anything, because if he was to tell them, they would think he was lying, but they needed to know the truth and they need to know now. "But listen...before I tell you...you need to promise me tha-"

"BEN! NANA! A familiar voice shouted. Ben and Nana both went wide eyes as they recognized the voice...it was Nyu! Everyone turned to see the horned girl, standing right before them, and looking concerned. "Ben, Nana! Come back home!" She said to them.

"Lucy..!" Nana said with shock. What was she doing here? Why wasn't she back at the house? Ben was feeling the same thing, where the hell was Kouta? Yuka? Whoever it was who should have watched Nyu! This was not going to end well for anyone here, as far as he was concerned.

Kurama and Shirakawa were looking on and were sweating nervously, the girl they were seeking for many weeks...was right there in front of them.

"Soumen!" Nyu cried. "Soumen! Hungry!" She said loudly, while filing her arms, normally Ben would find this adorable but due to the situation he was in, this was not the time to think.

" _Lucy…_ " Kurama thought. " _She's acting...like Mariko right now..this is it..the opportunity!_ " He thought as his eyes widened.

Ben saw that look in Kaurama s eyes and he got concerned.

"NYU!" Ben yelled. "GET OUTTA HERE!" He screamed at her, but unfortunately…

"GAB LUCY, NOW!" Kurama yelled a and all the soldiers ran towards her and had her pinned down to the ground, with several of them pointing their guns to her head.

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARDS!" Ben yelled as he put his hand on the Omnitrix and slammed it down and was engulfed in bright light, blinding nearly everyone. When the light vanished, standing in Ben's place was a green-skinned ore-like alien that had dark skin, had long misshapen arms and webbed feet, he wore black underpants that were covered by a metal waist that was connected to chains that went up to armor that covered his upper half, but the most distinguishing thing about him was the cage that was covering his entire face, which was covered in shadow with the exception of his eyes, that was glowing green.

" **TOEPICK!** " He said. Everyone looked at the strange creature with mixed reactions, Nana was a bit excited at seeing it, Kurama raised an eyebrow, Shirakawa and the officers were shocked and confused, and Nyu was looking with scared eyes.

"Nyu, Nana, cover your eyes. Mow!" The alien said to them.

"But why-"

"Just do it Nana!" He said seriously. Nana nodded a bit before shutting her eyes, and Nyu, despite not really knowing what was going on, did as she was told, as she closed her eyes as well, tears going down her face. Toepick stood before the officers and the hatch to the cage on his head unlocked itself and the cage opened.

When the soldiers saw Toepick's face, a majority of them paled and shook.

"WHAT THE HELL!" One man yielded as he let go of Nyu and backed away in fear.

"NO! GET AWAY!" Another yelled as he tried to scurry away. A few of them ran and puked a bit and the other simply shook in shock and fell on his back.

"MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!" Another soldier yelled as they all began to scurry back in fear.

"What are you doing?!" Kurama said to them in anger.

"M-m-m-monster!" They said in unison their skin went pale and felt sick. Before Kurama could look over in Ben's direction the green light flashed and Ben turned back to normal.

"Nana, Nyu, you can look now." He said as the two girls opened their eyes, Nyu was able to get up and when she did, she ran over and held onto Ben, her face digging into his neck and crying softly. "It's ok Nyu...it's alright now.

"What did you do…" Kurama said in irritation. Ben looked back at him.

"Stopping them from making a big mistake." He said. Kurama, irritated, walked right up to the boy to stare him in the eyes.

"Listen, kid, you have no idea what this monster is capable of doing, she is a killer who hurt so many people and if you protect her, you are just as-"

**BAM**

Nana gasped in shock as Ben gave a solid blow to Kurama, making the older man fall flat on his back with a thud.

"Papa!" Nana and Mariko both yelled, they both ran over to kneel at him.

Ben sighed as he stared at him. "Listen, dude, I am sorry for doing that...but there are a lot of things you don't know about Lucy...something that made her like this." He said.

Shirakawa looked to see how Ben was easily protective of her, and she saw how Lucy was hiding behind him in fright, but why? She should have attacked by now...it didn't really make sense.

Nana got up and looked at Ben with anger in her eyes.

"Ben!" She said. "Why did you do that to Papa?"

"I did it because I was stopping him from doing something stupid…" Ben said to her. Nana opened her mouth to protest, but she heard about Ben saying that he knows why Lucy is like that...and she had to close it….

Kurama got up and looked at the boy with anger, not only did this boy punch him, but he freed Lucy, he brought his hand to his pocket, most likely intending to use the gun he had on him, but before he could he heard Mariko's voice.

"Daddy! Look!" She said as she pointed up, Kurama and everyone else looked up to see a large rocket go up into the air. Everyone was shocked but Ben was determined.

"Nana! He said. "Stay here and guard Nyu….I'll stop the missile." He said.

"Oh..uh...ok." Nana said he was a bit nervous but determined as well. Ben was about to walk over to the side but then he felt something pull on his harm, it was Nyu, who looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Nyu," He said as he put his hand on her cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." He said softly and rubbed her face. Making the horned girl hug him tightly and he hugged back.

Kurama and Shirakawa, while still shocked at the missle, were confused as to why Lucy was hugging the boy, a human no doubt...they thought she would have been killed by now...so what was going on?

Ben let go of her and activated his Omnitrix and went through the different aliens he wanted to use. "From what that lady told us about the missile, I got to find the right alien for this job, I can't let the whole thing explode….ah, here we go." He thought as he slammed his hand on it and was engulfed in another green flash.

When the flash vanished standing in his place was a humanoid moth-like alien with four wings on its back, hsi body was black with cyan patches on his arms, legs, shoulders, and the back of his wings, with the patches having thick blue outlines except for the ones in his wings. He had three plates on his torso, one of them resembling a chest, the second one underneath the chest, and the third one that resembled a stomach. He also had a blue cheek and an underjaw that showed his teeth, which were blueish-white teeth. His eyes were green with dark green spots, and he had a Y-shaped marking that went over his scalp, he also had three pointed fingers and thumbs on each hand and had two toes on each foot with a third toe extension on his ankles, he also had the Omnitrix dial on his chest.

" **BIG CHILL!** " He yelled out loudly. Everyone present stared in shock and awe at this creature, Nana was amazed, the soldiers who didn't pass out from the earlier assault were in shock as they dropped their weapons, Kurama and Shirakawa were intrigued and Mariko was hiding behind Kurama's leg, frightened a bit of this creature.

"I'll be back soon." The Necrofriggian said to them as he took off to the missile. Using his enhanced speed, he was able to catch up with the missile and latched himself on it. "I'm gonna have to freeze this up so it doesn't explode." He said as he took a deep breath, and began to blow icy breath onto the missle, beginning to freeze it up he also used hsi ice touch to also freeze up the missile too.

On the ground, everyone was watching.

"He...he's freezing the missile!" Shirakawa said with shock. Just what the hell was this kid?

"I told you he can do it." Nana said as he looked up and smiled at the boy. "Ben...you really are amazing…"

"YAYYY BEN!" Nyu shouted with a big smile and waved her arms wildly.

Kurma was watching them all with widened eyes, this boy...he was something else….

Meanwhile, Big Chill was doing his best to ensure that the missile gets frozen in time before it self-destructs, and so far he was doing alright, the whole thing was almost beginning to freeze upon impact.

"Almost…." He said as the missile was almost frozen up solid...only a few more minutes…..and there! The ice-covered the end where the fire was at t and the rocket stopped in mid-air. "Now to set this thing down easily he says as he took one hand off of the missile and pressed on the Omnitrix dial, being engulfed in a green light again.

When the light vanished, standing in the Necrofriggian's place was...well...a large creature, a creature about the size of a kaiju! The creature was a large humanoid with a large red fin on his head, his arms were colored white with red fins coming out of them, the top part of him had red covering his shoulders and extended to this chest area, his feet were red with some white coming out of them, his eyes were green with a black outline, and his neck was black. The Omnitrix dial was his chest as well.

" **WAY BIG!** " The To'kustar yelled with the frozen rocket in his hand. Everyone on the ground level looked up with shock and awe.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Some of the soldiers yelled in unison with shock and horror.

"Woah…!" Nana said in amazement. Ben really was something else.

Meanwhile back near the bridge, everyone got a good glimpse at the alien and all were shocked.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" A woman yelled in fright.

"I DON'T KNOW BUT I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE!" A man said as the crowd began to disperse a bit, Kouta, who was watching on the side, was shocked and amazed at seeing this..thing, but when he saw the creature closely he got a glimpse of the Omnitrix dial.

" _That thing...on the creature's chest...that looks like Ben's watch…_ " Kouta thought with confusion, still, he looked out over to the other side of the island, he was hoping that Nana, Ben, and Nyu were alright, unaware that all three of them were together.

Back at the park, everyone present was all shocked and amazed at the creature, Shirakawa fell on her butt as her eyes went as wide as saucers at seeing this massive thing, Kurama dropped his gun while shaking a bit.

Way Big turned back around and gently placed the frozen missile on the ground, near everyone else but not too close to break. And he pushed on the dial, turning him back into Ben and he looked at all of them with a determined face.

"So..you all like what you saw?" He asked with a cocky grin.

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben and Lucy staring at each other_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Mariko, Nana, and a young happier Lucy laughing and eating Soumen Noodles together_ )

"Ben!" Nana and Nyu both ran up to him and glomped him tightly, making the boy smile a bit as he wrapped his arms around the girls.

"Ben, you were amazing!" Nana said with happiness.

"Ben!" Nyu as she hugged him tightly. "Ben is so nice! So nice!" She said as she pressed her face into his neck, making Ben smile at her with a small grin.

Kurama looked on at Ben and gave a solemn look. He underestimated this boy a bit, this boy...was something else, the boy...was amazing...but what would happen if Kakuzawa got his hand on him though? It would spell trouble for him...he looked over at Shirakawa, who was just staring at him with shock and sighed

"Kid.." Ben and the others turned to see Kurama walking up to them all, him looking into Ben directly in his soul, but Ben did not budge as he held onto Nyu with protectiveness, he will not let Kurama hurt her. "I am grateful that you stopped Kakuzawa's missile...but I want to know...why are you protecting Lucy, you should know the danger she possesses to the world."

Ben sighed, he figured that he should explain right now. "I understand how you all feel about her, I know she was killed too many people, but I can assure you that there is a reason, and despite it sounding like an excuse...it is not at all...let me explain."

And so Ben had told them all about how he had entered inside Nyu's mind and he saw her troubled childhood, about her being bullied and how the bullies ended up killing her dog and all that stuff, he left out Kouta and Yuka, so that they would not get involved.

As he told the story everyone's reactions varied. Shirakawa was shocked….sure she should hate Lucy...but what she endured...no wonder she hated humans so much. Nana was shocked as well...the girl she hated...the girl who sliced off her limbs weeks ago….endured so much suffering…

Kurama ...Kurama was difficult, Ben could not see what he was thinking, but one could see he noticed Kurama shaking and trembling a bit.

Ben sighed again. "Listen to me, I know a majority of you do not trust her for killing a lot of people, and you have every right, but those bullies and the suffering she went through...that's not the only reason...you see...there is a voice in her head."

Ben looked around to see that a few were giving him questionable looks and he sighed a bit."I know you all think I'm nuts, but I'm serious, there is a voice inside of Lucy's head, from an early age the voice has been manipulating her to commit all of these crimes and shit, and you might think it, just like a how a mentally ill person claimed to hear a voice in their heads well this is the real deal."

"Ben…"Kurama said to him. "If what you say is true...then why is this..voice..doing this?"

"I don't know, but from what I have seen the voice is simply manipulating Lucy and using her trauma and anger into coercing her to do these acts." Ben then sighed a bit. "I was inside her head..I talked with this voice….I was in its presence." Ben then went pale. "I saw pure evil...I saw evil right in the eye and it spoke to me…" He said with dread, just the thought of the voice made his skin pale and his skin crawl. "If you were to ask me..now this is just thought since you said that Lucy is a queen, I think that the voice is another reason why the Diclonius are suffering, she can detect the hardships they are enduring in that place and they are being easily persuaded and manipulated…"

Kurama tried to shake his head, this just didn't make any sense though…

"But, you are also to blame, Kurama." Bens aid harshly. "Not only did you put her through that shit...but you killed an innocent girl and blame her for it.

"THAT WAS NOT MY INTENTION!" The normally stoic man yelled. Nana and MAriko were both shocked and backed away, seeing that their papa was now angry. Kurama breathed a bit before speaking again. "I did not mean to kill that girl….if Lucy did not get her involved in this..then may-"

"Oh, don't you bullshit with me!" Ben said to him with anger. "It was Aiko's choice to go with her, and to blame Lucy? Dude, Aiko was the one who made her decision to protect her and you killed her….and when you informed Lucy that she was dead….you mocked her for it….let me ask you." Ben then gave an angry look at him. "Did you say that because it was true? Or did you tell her that just to fuck with her..?" He asked.

Things were getting intense, and it was going to get worse the more the arguing started...Nana knew she had to do something to stop this….she had to do something to stop her papa and her big brother from fighting.

**BANG**

Everyone turned to see that Nyu had been shot in the shoulder, by an officer. The bullet went right to her heart. Ben saw this and became enraged at the man, but before he could so something...he heard a sigh.

"Well..that was too close, '' said a whispering voice. "That bullet could have easily pierced my heart…" It was Lucy, the innocent Nyu was asleep again and now Lucy had woken up. Kurama trembled a bit as he looked on at her.

"Killing a Diclonius such as yourself requires a lot of skill Lucy…" The scientist said.

Lucy turned to face him. "You again?" She asked, but then who did she also see? Ben, who was standing there with a worried expression, when she saw him, she went wide-eyed."You…." She said in a voice that was a combination of anger..and sadness. "No…." she said.

" _You see my dear?_ " The voice told her. " _He was simply trying to use you….you need to kill him and everyone else._ " She said.

Lucy looked on at Ben, a tear going down her eye...as her face became one of fury.

"TENNYSON!" She roared in rage as she activated her vectors and rose in the sky.

"EVERYONE RUN!" Kurama yelled as the soldier, Shirakawa, Mariko and him began to run off, he turned back to see Nana still standing there. "Nana! Let's go!" He said.

"No!"She said. "I'm sorry Papa...but I need to help Ben..and Lucy." She said that last part was a bit reluctant...but after what she had heard her story...maybe...she could help her….abit...she owed it to Ben.

Kurama looked on with worry, but then sighed and let her on, but stayed behind though to make sure nothing happened. But if one could look closely Mariko was begging to lessen her grip on Kuramas pant leg

Ben quickly dodged his way out of Lucy's attack, from the look she was giving it was a look of rage, sadness, and betrayal.

"Lucy, just listen to me!" He said but he was interrupted by a piece of concrete exploding near him,

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR LIES!" She yelled as she sent vectors after him, but he dodged them all.

Nana, not wanting anything to happen to him, used her vectors to launch herself at Lucy.

"Lucy!" Nana said. "Please stop this!" She pleaded. Lucy looked at her and with an angry growl, she punched her with a vector.

"You stay out of this you little bitch…" Lucy growled. "Tennyson is mine." She said as she stared at the boy again.

Ben stared up at her, he knew he was not going to talk his way out of this...so he had no choice but to fight. "Sorry Lucy but remember." He then activated his Omnitrix. "You made me do this." He said as he slammed on the Omnitrix dial and he was back in hsi Diclonius form.

Lucy looked at him with shock. Did he...just change..into a Diclonius? One of her own species?

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" She yelled as she sent her vectors at her, but the new Diclonius then used her own vectors to block and grapple Lucy's and she sent one to punch her in the face, making Lucy fall down with a loud thud.

"Listen Lucy…." Ben's Diclonius form said. "I do not want to fight...but please listen to me." She said. Lucy pushed herself up and glared at him.

"She was right...you were just being nice to me to find a weakness…" She said. "You are nothing more than just another filthy human." She said. "You saw my mind...saw everything...only to get a drop on .e...who the hell do you thi-

**SLAP**

Lucy was then slapped by the new Diclonius. Nana was shocked and awed, never had she ever expected someone to actually slap her like that. Lucy looked on as she grabbed her stinging cheek and looked at him with shock.

"Listen to me…" She said as she grabbed the other girl's hands. "Whatever that voice is telling you, do not listen to it, it is trying to get in your head and trying to use you." She said.

"No!" Lucy said. "Yo-your lying…"She said, her previous anger now gone...but replaced with one of aggression but somberness.

"No, I'm not...I have seen your memories, I know it was cover you to kill those people, and while I am mad at you for doing it...it isn't entirely your fault, that voice has been trying to brainwash you for a long time Lucy." The Ridiculous then pressed on the dial and turned back into Ben. "Please...you have to fight it...do it for me...do it for Kouta."

" _Kouta…_ " Lucy thought. The mention of Kouta's name brought a small tear to her eye. "But...Kurama.." She said.

"Lucy...I won't let Kurama hurt you..not while I'm here…" Ben said. "And listen to me….you might hate him..but he suffered as well. He was forced to kill a whole bunch of kids with horns because he was ordered to, at first I was pissed...but after looking back on it...I can see now that he hated it…"

Lucy was listening to all of this and looked back to Kurama, who was just giving her a small glare as he looked down a bit, Lucy remained calm a bit, but still sent a glare at him.

"But that girl behind him? He was going to kill her, but she pleaded for him to keep her alive as her dying last request. And here we are today, he was going to kill her again...but Nana and I...we were able to stop him from killing her again."

Lucy looked up in shock, she turned to see Mariko clinging to Kurama's leg. Lucy looked at him and ran back again….a human...actually save a Diclonius's life...this was nuts...

"Lucy, please understand, not all humans in the world are evil, I will admit that not all humans are good, but there are many who are nice, just like, me, Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, Nozomi, and Aiko….can't you see the same?" He asked da she gently rubbed her hand. "Please let me help you, I can figure out a way to get that voice out of you...please..." He said to her. "I'm sorry I hit you by the way..but it was the only thing I could think of to calm you down and to listen to me."

Lucy was now breathing hard, all this information..it was too much to handle, as tears began to flow.

"I...I don't know what to think anymore…" She said as tears came out her eyes. Nana then slowly but cautiously walked right up to her.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, She said. "I didn't know how much horror you went through in there….If I had known sooner I could have tried to stop you…" She said as she grabbed the older Diclonius' hands. "I might not be able to forgive you just yet...but I want to try to be civil with you for now….please...stop killing." She begged.

Lucy looked up at the two and she felt more tears come out of her eyes….could she do it? Could she stop killing? Could she...be able to live with herself?

Kurama was watching this all and sighed a bit.

" _I guess...I was wrong a bit...about Lucy….but she still poses a threat to the world though._ " He thought. " _Maybe I can have the boy guard her and if she ever tries anything..then he could stop her…_ " He then took a glance at the still frozen missle. " _This boy...he really is something...I think...maybe he can save Kamakura and the whole world form Kakuzawa..._ "

" _No…_ " The voice said in her mind. " _No….NOOOOO!_ " She yelled internally as on the outside, Lucy grabbed her head and clutched it, fracking Ben and Nana out a bit.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Ben said with concern. "Are you ok?" He asked again, as Lucy began to groan.

Lucy…?" Nana asked with worry.

Just then they heard a dark chuckle...a chuckle that was familiar, Ben noticed it and quickly took Nana and ran far back.

"What's happening?" Kurama called out to him. Ben ignored him though as Lucy began to rise up, only this time..it was not Lucy, and it was not Nyu...it was something different, something pure evil.

"Tennyson.." The DNA Voice said with a dark grin as her eyes stared at him. Thes eyes were not innocent or somber...these eyes...were evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope that you all enjoyed this particular chapter. So we got int some heavy stuff, Ben confessed to why Lucy is doing all of this and Lucy thinks that Ben lured her to a trap, but after needing talking she became to consider is help, but then..the voice itself takes over, will Ben and Nana stop it? Tune in and find out not he next chapter.
> 
> Also please don't forget to read and reviews, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	25. Fight and Emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody I hope you all had a good 4th of July and all that good stuff. So last time, Ben was informed about the missile strike taking place in Kakakura, and Nyu arrived at the worst possible time. After Being rescued and stopped the missile, he explained what she had gone through during her horrible childhood. After Lucy had reawakened she attacked Ben in a rage for thinking that he had betrayed her. Ben managed to calm her down a bit until a familiar evil presence took over her. Now Ben and Nana will both have to fight off this voice for the first time, will they win? Let's find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Enoshima Park_

Ben and Nana were both now facing the DNA Voice, the one who was partially responsible for driving Lusty down a dark path. Ben stared at her with anger and hatred in his eyes and Nana? She looked on with fright, sensing the evil in this girl, but gladly stood her ground.

"Tennyson…" The Voice said with a wicked smile. "You nearly fucked up everything you know?"

"Like I care about that." He said to her. "What the hell do you want? If you are here just to screw with us, then think again because I'm bringing Lucy and Nyu back!"

The Voice glared at him. "You think so huh? Well, let me tell you something...I have worked too hard to get this girl into such despair, and I will not let it be jeopardized by some pathetic human such as yourself!"

Ben however was not scared of her words. After dealing with monsters such as Vilgax and Aggregor, he was not going to be scared off by this demon.

"*Scoff* Please, do you know how many times I have been told something like this?" He asked. "Well let me tell you something babe, I'm a superhero and I will do whatever it takes to protect my friends and save the world, and I will find a way to save Lucy from your influence!" He then placed his hand on the Omnitrix and Nana got into a battle stance.

Kurama and Shirakawa looked on with worry. Kurama was mostly worried about Nana, worried that she was going to get herself killed by Lucy..or well..this thing in Lucy...Shirakawa looked on with fright, for what she had seen was going to be either very bloody or very destructive. Mariko...Mariko didn't say anything..just watched.

Ben looked through his Omnitrix to see which alien to use. " _I should try using my Diclonius form again, from what I was told, Diclonius can block each other, might give me and Nana the advantage._ " He thought as he then found the symbol and pressed on it, engulfing him in a bright green light. Standing in his place was his Diclonius form.

Oh...that's so awesome…" the Voice deadpanned. "You can turn into one of us, but still I could easily take control of you too."

Ben's Diclonius form glared. "Not gonna happen, Nana, you take one side I'll go the other. We have to try to knock her out, hopefully, it'll bring either Lucy or Nyu back."

"Right!" Nana said and she and the new Dilconius both ran.

The Voice smirked as vectors came out of her. "Both of you shall die." She said as she sent her vectors at them, but the girl both dodged in time. Ben's Diclonius form sent out a few of her own vectors at the voice, but the entity easily blocked them with her own, and punched them back.

"Is this really the best you both can do?" The Voice said with an unimpressed yawn. "I expected more from the boy who calls himself a hero."

Ben's Diclonius form glared at her. "I AM a hero! And I will defeat you!" She yelled as she ran towards her again, launching more vectors at her, but his voice easily blocked them, but then Ben's Diclonius form used another vector to go around the other vectors and give her a solid punch to the face, making the woman grunt in pain.

"RAGH!" Nana yelled as she delivered a kick to the Voice's face, making her fall back a bit. The Voice started to stare right up at them and with an angry glare.

"You two are so dead…" She said in a whispering voice. She then uses her vectors to chip the metal bars off and grab them and hurl them towards the other two Diclonius.

"Look out!" Nana sia das she and Ben's Diclinus form dodged out of the way, having the pole get shot to the ground, and barely miss them by inches.

"Phew, that was close." Ben's Diclonius form said as she looked back at the Voice. "I need to figure out how to knock her out though...wait...of course...I'll just use Pesky Du-" But she was interrupted as the Voice grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her into the air.

"BEN!" Nana yelled but was then backhanded by the Voice, causing her to skidback a bit.

"Nana!" Kurama called out with worry. The Voice used a vector to go over to the Diclonius and push the Omnitrix dial, making her turn back into Ben. " _Crap!_ " He thought as the Voice then used another vector and started to strangle him, just like what Mariko did to him.

The Voice used the vectors to drag the boy closer to her so she can give him an evil look. "I have worked too hard for this moment to come...and if you think I'm gonna let some pathetic human bastard like you run it?" She asked as she applied pressure on Ben's neck. "You are so wrong boy…"

"You….will not….get away...with this…" Ben said, struggling to talk and breathe.

"Oh…" The Voice said dangerously. "But I already will." She said as she then took a glance at the Omnitrix on Ben's wrist. "That watch on your wrist….that must be how you know so much...how does it work?"

Ben scoffed a bit as he coughed. "I ain't telling you nothing!" He snapped at her.

The Voice scoffed a bit. "Fine then….in order so that you won't be a nuisance to me...I'll have to just rip that arm of yours off then." She said to him dangerously. She glared down at his arm and had her vector go over to his arm, but as she was about to rip it off…

**BAM**

The Voice was knocked back and she skidded a few feet away, and Ben dropped to the ground, grabbi ghsi throat and coughing a bit. When he looked up, he saw Nana, standing right in front of him.

"Nana?" He asked. The girl turned back to face him.

"Ben...let me handle her." She said."

"What? No, you can-"

"Ben." Nana interrupted. "You saved me two times, and you were there for me. This time...let me save you now." She said to him. She gave a confident grin on her face as she helped up Ben.

The boy looked at her with worried eyes and stood his ground.

"Fine, but I'm still helping you, no and, ifs, or buts. Ok?" He said to her.

Nana turned and frowned at him a bit, she did not want him to gain any more injuries that he already had...but she would not stop him though…" Alright then…" She said to him. "But please….don't die on me, please stay alive

The Voice turned her attention towards Kurama and the others and had a dark smile on her face.

"Well, Kurama...how does it feel to know that your precious little daughters here are going to die by my hands, huh?" She asked snarkily. This made Kurama stare angrily at her, he then got his gun out again and pulled it right in front of her.

" _Sorry, Ben...but I need to put her down._ " He thought. But before he could, Mariko walked right in front of him and glared at Lucy.

"You aren't killing my father." Mariko said to her in a dark tone of voice, making both Kurama and everyone else around her shocked, she was not her babyish personality anymore...she was back to her old self...but she was different this time.

"Mariko…" Nana said in awe. Ben was also shocked he never expected her to change back...but this time she was different, rather than killing them all, she was now protecting her father, Kurama.

Mariko turned to face Nana and Ben. "Big Sis, you and Ben take Papa and run." She said as she turned back to face The Voice. "I will not kill anyone anymore...I promise to behave this time...I promise." She said.

Shirakawa was shocked at seeing her like this, never had she expected this to happen. " _Usually Sipilets kill their parents at first….but Mariko...she is protecting her own...has she regained her human heart?" She asked. "Did this boy...help her?_ "

Ben looked at Mariko and smiled a bit, he was happy that she was finally helping Kurama rather than trying to kill everyone. A part of him was wondering if, while she was in her infancy stage, she must have heard his words and possibly taken the words to heart.

"Mariko!" Ben said. "Please let me stay and help you." He pleaded. "But don't kill her, we just have to knock her out-"

"I know…." She said to him. "I know...I heard it...maybe that's why I had all those thoughts in my head, one because of this bitch...and because of my own anger and aggression…" She said softly as she put her head down, but then raised it up again. "But I do know now...I want to change...I want to find redemption for everything that I did...I know it will be hard...but the very least...I can do is take this bitch out…"

Kurama looked down to look at her, she changed so much in so little time, it was only a few hours ago that she was trying to kill everyone...now she was acting protective….very much human...he would have to thank Ben for this...But first he reached down and hugged her tightly.

"Father?" She asked, a bit nervous and shaky.

Kurama smiled as he still held her in his arms. "We shall stay together forever, and ever." He said. "We both did bad things...horrible things….and it will take us time to try to redeem ourselves….but I know that we can do it…" He said to her.

Ben, who had been watching, had a tear going down his face as he smiled. "Kurama...I'm still pissed at you for what you did...but I have hopes that you and Mariko can somehow find redemption for your crimes…"

Nana stared at them and flew the same thing, this girl might have tried to kill her and Ben a few hours ago...but she felt happy, happy that she was acting protective. She looked at Ben And gave a sad smile.

"Ben….you truly are amazing…" She thought as a tear went down her eye.

The Voice, who had been watching this whole thing scoffed a bit. "Your whole happy family is so useless." She said darkly. "You and everyone here, is going to die by my hands forev-"

**BAM**

Several vectors came and punched the Voice right in the face. Making the possessed girl skidded right back into the railing, she used her vectors to stop though.

"So, who did you say was going to die? Mariko asked in a voice devoid of fear. The Voice got up and looked at them with an angry glare, a glare that spoke of bloodlust and rage.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" The Voice yelled as she ran towards her. "YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE HERE LIKE AN ANIMAL!" It roared as it ran towards her. But Mariko sent more of her vectors at the girl and began to assault her with blows after blows.

Because the Voice was so enraged, she did not have enough time to focus on getting her vectors out and it led to her beatdown.

Ben was watching with Nana and Kurama and was worried. He didn't want Mariko to kill the Voice..at least not while it was in Lucy's body of course…

"Is this the best you got?" Mariko asked. "I'm very disappointed." She said. "I expected a bit more from the supposed Queen." She said as The Voice fell down a bit after many blows. Everyone watched with awe, but Kurama and Shirakawa were the most shocked.

" _She...she might even surpass Lucy herself!_ " They both thought at the same time.

The Voice got up and coughed some blood out, she looked at the girl and glared a bit. Her eyes glaring into the younger Diclonius.

"You little bitch…" She spewed, her voice dripping with venom. She then got back up and Mariko got back to her defensive stance.

Ben and Nana were both worried, worried about how this fight was gonna end, they didn't want either of them to die, well they didn't want Lucy/Nyu, and Mariko to die. Ben swore that he would find a way to get rid of the voice somehow…

But then a noise was heard.

**BEEP BEEP BEEP**

Everyone heard it and the fight stopped. Shirakawa's eyes went wide when she recognized the sounds of those beeps, they were the beeps for the bomb timer for the bombs in Mariko's body.

" _Now?_ " She inwardly asked herself. " _But where's the remote?_ " She thought frantically as she then stepped forward to see if she could get a good glimpse of the device, and she did...but it was not in a good place, why?

"Of all the places…" Shirakawa said. " _It had to be right by Lucy..or that voice..thing in her._ " She thought with worry. The Voice then looked over to see that the phone was right by her.

But Shirakawa was a bit confused, where was Isobe? Shouldn't he have the device? When she asked Kurama where the man was, she got a response that he had died. This and other widened her eyes..this way not good at all.

Kurama felt the same as he also saw the device right by Lucy. This is not good, if they didn't somehow get that device from her in 3 minutes, then Mariko will die….

Shirakawa….not really knowing what else to do, found a nearby pipe by her feet and picked it up.

"LUCY!" She yelled. "FIGHT ME!" She yelled as she used the pipe and got into a fighting stance. Everyone wound her and was looking at her as if she grew a second head.

" _What's she doing?_ " Ben asked inwardly.

Shirakawa…" Kurama said with a mix of awe and horror, what the hell was she doing? She was gonna get herself killed!

The Voice turned to face her with an un-amused look and scoffed, what was he going to do? She was nothing but a mere human. Mariko took notice of the phone nearby.

"NOW!" Shirakawa yelled, and Mariko took off running for the phone, but the Voice, having caught up on this, used her vectors to get the phone first. Making everyone gasp.

"Oh," She said in a mocking voice as she held up the phone. "So you all want this huh?" She asked as she waved the phone back and forth for everyone to see. "Well if you want it then….go get it!" She said she tossed the phone over the bridge.

"NOOO!" Mariko yelled as she ran forward and used her vectors to grab it, and thankfully she caught it right before the phone touched the water, making the girl sigh in relief.

"MARIKO!" Nana yelled as when the girl turned around, the Voice, giving a wicked grin used her vectors...to slice off both her legs….

Kurama, Nana, Shirakawa, and Ben were all shocked and gasped at this cruel thing to do. Ben also saw that she had a prosthetic arm on that came off, what could have happened to it? But he shook those thougts away, now he was glaring at the voice with anger.

Mariko landed on the ground and yelled in pain, blood oozing out of her wounds. The Voice gave a wicked laugh as Mariko struggled to get back up.

"MARIKO!" Kurama yelled as both him and Ben tried to run in to defend her, but Mariko told them to stop.

"No!" She said. "Please, don't come near me!" She said to them both, making them both stop, but sweat going down their head in a mix of worry and nervousness.

"What are you gonna do now, you little shit?" The Voice said wickedly. "You can't use your vectors in this condition now, can you?" She taunted. She then looked back to gaze at Kurama with a smile. "How does it feel Kurama?" She asked. "The feeling of seeing people you love die around you...exactly how you made Kaede feel." She said.

" _Kaede?_ " Ben thought. " _Who's Kaede?_ " But this was not the time or place to think about this, he had to figure out how he can save Mariko without getting in the way…

Kurama was feeling massive amounts of both anxiety and guilt in him...from what Ben had told him about Lucy….he felt responsible, he felt like he caused all of this… " _How long…._ " He thought. " _How long have my tears been held up, how long will they be held up?_ " He asked as he was trembling, remembering when Nana's limbs were torn off. And he also remembered when his secretary was killed on the night that Lucy escaped, he had to ask himself….due to what Benw as telling ihm, how much of it was Lucy, and how much of it was the Voice?

"But do not worry Kurama...you will be last." The Voice said maliciously. She then turned to face Mariko and was giving her a wicked grin. "Now...it's time for you to do-"

"WAIT!" Everyone turned to see Kurama who was now looking at her in defiance. "If it will satisfy you...then kill me instead…" He said solemnly, making both Ben And Nana widen their eyes, what the hell was he doing? "And in return, you don't hurt Mariko...or Nana...or anyone else…"

" _Papa…_ " Mariko and Nana thought in unison. Ben was the same way, was he willing to die to save them? Why though? Was it out of guilt? Out of the love he has for them? Ben could only assume that it was the mixture of both reasons, he felt like Kurama wanted to die in order to pay for the sins he committed, but at the same time, he would ensure that Mariko and Nana would both live on..

"Shirakawa," Kurama said. "I am leaving everything to you….Ben." He said facing towards the teen boy. "Take care of Mariko and Nana for me.." He said, if one could look closely, he had a pleading look in his eyes.

"Ku-Kurama!" Ben said as a tear was starting to go down his face.

Shirakawa was a bit nervous because the Voice still had the phone on her...and it was not good at all. She knew that even if Kurama was to give up, Mariko would still die from the bombs.

"NO!" Nana yelled as she ran in front of her father figure. "I'll fight Lucy, you escape, Papa!" She said to him. "Me and Ben, we can both take on Lucy!" She was not gonna let him die, not like this.

"Right!" Ben said as he came up to them both. "Kurama...I promise that I will protect Nana, and I will save Mariko, right after we knock her out and she comes back to her senses, then I will fix Mariko up, I promise." He said with determination.

Kurama looked at the two and awed at their determination, but he felt like they did not have to, maybe it was time for him to die anyway, as punishment for the crimes he committed...maybe, this was the only way to not only save everyone else, but to pay for his crimes.

"Nana….Ben...thank you both." Kurama said to them. "But I do not need help from you...everything is alright now." He said. But Nana doesn't want to have any of it.

"Papa…" Nana said in a whimper as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Kurama…" Ben said with anxiousness. This was not what he wanted…

Shirakawa looked on in sadness. Not only was she going to lose a fight she was trying so hard to expose...but she was about to lose someone...that she had developed feelings for...the very thought made her eyes water.

"NO!" Nana yelled as she ran in front of him and stared up at him. "I don't want that, I don't want you to die, Papa!" She said loudly as tears were going down her eyes. IF PAPA DIES, THEN SO WILL I!" She yelled. She would rather die than lose one of the very few people who cared for her in the world.

Kurama looked down at her in awe, she was really willing to die with him?

"NO!" Everyone turned to see Ben, who was now breathing very heavy, his fists gripping very tight as he looked up. "No one….is dying here…you hear me?" He then raised his head up as tears went down his eyes. "NOBODY IS DYING HERE, NOT WHILE I'M STILL HERE!" He shouted. Ben was serious, he would not let no one here die, and if they did, then how could he call himself a superhero? Of course, h was ashamed because Isobe was killed..but he was hoping that he might be able to save everyone else...be hoped

Big Brother…" Nana said softly in awe, never had she seen him so angry like this before. It was actually kind of scary, him raising his voice like that. But given the circumstances...could you blame him for it?

"Mmmmm….Hehehe….HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Voice laughed loudly, making everyone look at her. The Voice then stopped laughing and stared at Ben, her eyes with hatred and her mouth grinning like a hunter going for its prey. "You really think you can save everyone here boy? You will just die here as well." She said, making Ben growl and tremble with furry. Never had he felt this much hatred before….only to monsters such as Vilgax….

As Kurama was watching with worry, Shirakawa had walked over to him and whispered to him about the bombs benign inside Mariko's body, making him shocked at this. Why he asked her if this was due to the Director, she agreed.

"But it was I who suggested this…" She said solemnly because I thought that the child of the Room Monitor and some strange woman can die for all I care….but then...I always felt guilty and regretful….so don't worry, I'll try to disarm them."

" _Shirakawa…._ " Kurama thought.

"Once I disarm the bombs...we can save Mariko." She said. Ben and Nana both heard at this point and were relieved, Ben wanted to go over and help MAriko, but with the Voice right there he could not do anything at the moment, for he would make a wrong move and hell would break loose.

"But I do have one request I didn't mention...and I want you to listen to it once." She said as she then looked at the Voice, who was still looking on with Mariko laying on the ground in agony. And after a few seconds...she begins walking toward her, with Kurama freaking out.

"SHIRAKAWA!" He yelled with worry, he tried to go after her but Nana was keeping him at bay. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!" He yelled.

Ben was looking on and was trembling a lot….he wanted to do something...but he noticed that the Voice was staring right at him, if he tried to do anything, then it would be bad. He could activate the Omnitrix, but the green light might be a giveaway and it would give the voice an opportunity..so he had to lay it smart...he was not happy about it but what else could he do?

" _Maybe…,_ " Ben thought. " _Once Shirakawa goes over to her I could quietly run, activate the Omnitrix, turn into XLR8, and quickly get Mariko and Shirakawa away….do not screw this up Ben…_ " He thought with determination. "I need to tell Nana about this as well." and with that, he whispered to Nana about the plan

As Shirakawa walked towards the Voice, part of her was shaking a bit, but she did not back down at all.

" _I don't really have a plan…_ " She thought with sameness. " _But as long as I don't atone for my sins….then I can't express how I truly feel for Kurama…._ " "Lucy!" She said. "Give me the remote...now." She said sternly.

The Voice however smirked right at her as she held out the phone, if you want it...come and get it…" She said in a taunting tone of voice. Shirakawa gulped a bit, but she then shook the feelings of fear off as she walked closer to her.

Ben was getting anxious she then had his hand over his Omnitrix, he did not activate it yet, but as soon as Shirakawa go the phone he was gonna have Nana send a vector towards the voice to knock her out, then Ben was gonna turn into XLR8 and quickly grab Mariko and take her to a safe distance.

As Shirakawa got a bit closer, she was anxious, her throat was going dry, sweat was going down her head, she was trembling with nervousness and fear...this could end in both ways. She could get the remote and hand it to Kurama, or the Voice could swipe it and kill her right then and there….well anyway, Shirakawa gota bit closer as the Voice still held the remote out.

"KURAMA!" Shirakawa yelled as he snatched the remote immediately.

"NANA, NOW!" Ben's said has deactivated his Omnitrix. Nana sent a quick vector punch at the Voice causing her to get knocked back into the railing. Ben hit the Omnitrix and was engulfed in green light. Standing in his place was an alien resembling a Velociraptor, he had black orbs on his feet, wore a black conoid helmet that had a visor on it, and his body was all black. He also had a long black tail with blue stripes on it, and his arms were blue and thin with his hands resembling pinchers. His chest was all green with the Omnitrix dial being located in the center of it.

"Time to make like a banana and split!" The Kineceleran joked as he used his super speed to quickly grab Mariko and Shirakawa as she took them far backward a bit out of the Voice's reach.

"WHAT?!" The Voice yelled in anger, but then Nana used more of her vectors to hold the voice down, much to the latter's anger and discomfort.

XLR8 looked down at MAriko, who had her limbs with her and Shirakawa, who had her hand on her heart while breathing heavily.

"Ben…," Mariko said with awe.

"Don't worry I can fix you." He said as he pushed the Omnitrix dial and turned into Clockwork.

"Dont worry Mariko, this won't hurt." He said as he glowed green and fired his laser at teh girl, and in no time, her limbs began to restore themselves on her. Shirakawa was watching this with extreme awe.

"This boy…" She thought with awe. Mariko felt the same, but at the same time, Mariko felt really guilty, hours ago she tried to murder him horrible...and now he was fixing her up….how could a kind boy like him be kind as to fix her up like that?

Once Clockwork did his thing. He pressed on the dial and turned back to Ben, with the boy falling down in exhaustion. Making both Mariko and Shirakawa worry.

"Shirakawa…" Ben said through exhaustion. "Hurry...and disable the bombs in her…" he said he handed her the home, to which the woman took and quickly tried to place in the coordinates. After a few minutes, she finally did it.

"KURAMA, I DID IT!" She yelled at him ."MARIKO'S BOMBS HAVE BEEN DISABLED!" She yelled at him.

Kurama looked on, and for the first time in like...forever, he smiled at her. His daughter was saved...saved from benign killed….he was happy about it, and Nana was happy to as she sighed in relief.

As Nana was distracted, the Voice was watching all of this right in front of her, and her reaction?

" **RRRRAAAAGGGGHHHH!** " She roared as she got loose and looked over at Ben, she then used all of her vectors to give solid punches right at him, she punched him in the face, stomach, legs, all of his body. The force was a bit much for the boy as he began to cough a bit of blood out of his mouth.

Nana, who was looking on in shock, tried to run and stop him but Kurama held her back. "PAPA! LET ME GO! BIG BROTHER NEEDS ME!" She screamed. Kurama didn't want her to go out there of course he wanted to save the boy too, but he knew that if he or Nana got in the way of the attack, then they would get killed too…

After many punches, Ben fell to the ground, coughing blood. The Voice grabbed him and brought him to her face, her face snarling in anger.

"You little bastard…" She said in a low voice. "I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO SHARE-"

**SLICE**

The Voice gasped a bit as she stood still, and one could look, one of her horns was shot right off of her head. She turned to see Kurama, who had a gun and tried to shoot her, but he missed her head and got her horn as well...

"Kurama...you bastard…." She said as she let go of Ben..and fell down on the ground with a thudding noise.

"BEN!" Nana yelled as she ran over to him. "Ben! Are you alright! Please say something!" She said as she was shoving him a bit. After a few seconds, Ben coughed up some blood and opened his eyes. Making Nana happy.

"BEN!" She said as she gave him a big hug. Ben Was surprised by the action, but he smiled and hugged her back nonetheless. "I was so worried that you were gonna die." She said on his shoulder.

"Hey now...don't talk like that." He said to her. "I ain't gonna go down yet." He said, as blood began to go down his nose, to which he noticed and wiped up a bit. "Damn...she got me good." He said as he looked over at the drowned Voice. "She ain't dead is she?" He asked seriously.

"I don't think so...just knocked out." She said.

Ben sighed in relief. "Good, hopefully, she will become Lucy or Nyu again...and we can talk about this whole thing." He said to her.

"Tennyson…" Ben And Nana turned to see Kurama, holding onto Mariko. "I...want to offer you my thanks." He said. "You saved Mariko from Lucy….I don't know how..but I owe you." He said as he gave him a bow of respect.

Ben chuckled a bit before getting up, with help from Nana. "Kurama….at first I was angry for what you did..but I do want to know..do you regret what you did?"

"Yes…"

"Listen, redemption can be hard to achieve, but I believe that there are some people capable of it...the only question is...do you want redemption?" He asked.

Kurama and Mariko looked at each other for a bit before turning to Ben.

"I do…" Kurama said to him. "Even though I never showed it...I feel so horrible about what I did at the Institution...I caused so much grief in there...I only imagine my wife being so disappointed in me...but hopefully….I hope I can find redemption.

Mariko looked up at him and hugged him, before turning her attention to Ben. "I also want to find it….I was locked up in there for so long….I was overcome by my own anger and hatred...I wanted to kill everyone...but you..you showed me kindness a bit, you wanted to help me….I was so surprised by that act...I was...I don't know…" She said with her head down.

"Do not worry my dear." Said a familiar voice. They all turned to see that it was Professor Paradox coming towards them all. Kurama pulled out his gun in alarm. But Ben stopped him.

"No one hurt him! He's my friend." He said.

"Thank you, my boy, does anyone want a gumball?" He asked.

"Uh..no..we're good." Ben sweatdropped, jeez here for what seconds? And he asked for a gumball?

Kurama put the gun down but he didn't put it away out of suspicion. Paradox came up to him.

"Do not be alarmed Kurama...I am not here for malicious purposes. I am here to speak to young Tennyson, and to you and your daughter as well." He then turned back to face Ben and Nana, who was hiding behind him.

"So what do you want, professor?" Ben asked. "And no I do not want a gumball."

"Oh...ok...Well, after you and I talked last, I managed to get in contact with the Plumbers and have gotten word that they could build something that can allow you to travel inside Kaede's mind so that you can free her from that voice you mentioned."

Ben smiled in joy as he heard that..but something made him confused. "Who's Kaede?" He asked.

PAradox sighed as he pointed down to the now unconscious Nyu. "That is her real name." He said as Ben looked surprised and looked down. So...her name was actually Kaede….interesting…

"Ok...so how long will it take?" Ben asked. Paradox frowned a bit.

"A few months…" He said.

…..

SAY WHAT!" Ben yelled comically. "FEW MONTHS? WHY?"

Paradox sighed. "Because they need to get all the right materials first before testing it out, and besides they are prepping up."

Ben calmed down a bit long enough to ask him what he was talking about.

"Well, after I informed them about the Institute and this world...they all decided that they are going to prep up and raid the whole facility, hopefully, to get the innocent Diclonius in there out of there and hopefully move on with better lives." He said. He then turned to face Kurama. "Kurama...while I am a bit unnerved for what you did in the past...I can see that you feel immense regret for it."

Kurama looked down. "I do….I honestly do…." He then turned to face the downed Kaede. "And after what Ben had told me...I can't help but feel bad for Lu-Kaede as well…" He said solemnly, still not really used to her real name. "But...I need to learn more though…"

"I know you do." Paradox said. "But I want to give you a proposal." He said, making Kurama perk up a bit. "I want you to come back with me and help the Plumbers out, we could use your help with the knowledge of the Institute and everything else."

Kurama stared at him, and at Mariko and sighed. "If...if it will help me atone for my sins...I will help you." He said.

Paradox smiled. "Good, and you could also bring your daughter as well...you two have suffered enough in the world...I want you both to experience a better one." He said.

Kurama looked down at Mariko. "What do you say Mariko? Do you want to come with me and behave well?"

Mariko, tears going down her eyes smiled. "Yes, Father!" She said happily. This made Ben smile, hopefully, now they can finally get a new life in his own world...hopefully.

Nana looked on and frowned a bit, of course she was happy for them, but at the same time she was upset, since he had Mariko back...does this mean that he would disown Nana? The thought of it was worrying her.

"Nana…" Kurama said. "Do you want to come with us?" He asked. "You, me, and Mariko will be able to live good lives from now on…" he said with a small smile.

Nana looked at him and smiled. She wanted to be with him very much...but then she also had her friends to worry about back at Maple Inn, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned so see Ben doing it.

"Whatever you want to do is your decision, but you should let the others know first." He said to her gently.

Nana looked at Ben And sighed...she then turned to face Kurama again. "Papa...I want to come with you and Mariko...but I can't." She said, surprising some of them. "At least not yet….Ben..he told me about what's going on...and I want to stay here….I want to help him...however I can." She said to him. "I know it sounds selfish...but I just don-"

"I understand." Kurama said to her, making her look up in surprise. "You care for him don't you?" He asked.

Nana nodded her head. "He saved me from Lucy before….he has become my big brother and I don't know what I would do if he was not part of my life…" She said to him.

Paradox smiled and patted her on the head. "Ben Tennyosn is a good boy young one. He will do whatever it takes to win a victory." He said as he took out a ray gun and shot it at the still frozen missile, when it got hit it vanished. "Do not worry everyone. I simply had the missile relocated back to Plumber HQ, our top scientists will conduct it and take necessary precautions on it as well."

Kurama nodded and he turned his head towards the soldiers who were all frozen in shock over the events of what was going on.

"Listen to you all!" He said. "None of you...are to mention the events that happened here tonight to anyone, you understand?" He asked as they nodded their heads. "Whatever happened here...stays here and never gets revealed...got it?"

"Yes sir!" They all said as they began to run away, possibly afraid that Ben might turn back into that...gross thing from earlier.

Paradox sighed and pointed his ray gun to a tree, which showed a portal of some kind. "Wel Kurama? Shall we proceed?" He asked.

"Hold on...I need to ask someone something." He said as he put Mariko down and walked over to Shirakawa. "Shirakawa...I want to thank you...for everything, I know this was not easy for you to do….but I can't thank you enough."

Shirakawa blushed a bi at hearing his words before letting out a small smile. "It-it's all fine Kurama….do you….think I can come with you?" She asked hopefully.

"Well…"

"Sure." Paradox said to them. "And once you were with Kakuzawa, you can prove the rest of the Plumbers more information on it." He said. "And hey….if you want to, you can try to change to..or not, it's all up to you." He said.

Shirakawa looked out into the ocean...thinking long and hard about this. And she thought about it. "Ok...I will." She said.

"Perfect," Paradox said. "Now come along you lot." He said with a smile, and Kurama, Shirakawa, and Mariko were about to enter the portal until Mariko had them stop.

"I need to stay something...to Ben and Big Sis." She said to them.

Paradox smiled a bit. "Alright, but don't be too long, can't leave this portal open all night."

Mariko smiled a bit as she walked over to Ben and Nana, she wobbled a bit but still managed to walk, when she finally got over to them, she put her head down in shame….why? She felt extreme guilt over what she had done to them both, hours ago….

"Uh….well…" Mariko struggled to say. "I just….well I mean...I wanted to say...I'm sorry…" As she said this, both Ben and Nana noticed tears falling on the ground. "I am so sorry for what I did to you both….I know you can never forgive me by-"

"Stop," Nana said to her, and Nana looked up at her with her eyes teary and red. "Mariko….I...I.." She didn't really want to forgive her, but then she remembered Ben telling her to be civil to Nyu first, and she sighed. "I may not be able to forgive you yet...but I am hoping that you can see that not all humans are evil...Ben is one of them...and so is Papa...even though he did those things…" She then knelt down, and gave her a big hug. "I never knew how hard you had it in there...I'm so sorry."

This act shocked Mariko a bit. She never expected this at all or the girl she tried to kill hours ago...but still..she enjoyed being hugged, and in a turn of events She grabbed Nana and sobbed into her shoulder. With Ben looking on with a small smile.

Kurama also gave a small smile. Finally after so many years of hardship and abuse... he and his daughter will be able to finally live together normally and live a happy life. The road to redemption will be long and hard...but he knew that he and Mariko could do it if they tried.

Ben then looked at the downed Nyu, who was still on the ground unconscious, he noticed the blood oozing out of the spit where her horn once was and sighed, he wanted to go Clockwork again but he already used too much of his energy to do it…

Kurama looked at Nyu again and frowned. But Paradox placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not fear, if she is to come back...Ben will take care of it…" He said with a warm smile. Kurama smiled back a bit but his concern was still there though…

"Mariko!" Kurama called out. "Let's go." He said. Mariko looked and smiled and let go of Nana as she then walked back to her father. She took hold of his hand and he took hold of Shirakawa's hand and they began to go with Paradox. But not before turning back at Nana and Ben and smiling.

"Thank you...Ben." Kurama said to Ben with a genuine smile, and once she did that, the three walked through the portal with Paradox, and after a few minutes..the portal vanished. Leaving Ben, Nana, and the downed Queen.

Ben sighed in relief as he fell on his back with stud, prompting Nana to look at him with concern.

"Ben! Are you ok?" She asked. But rather than answer her. Ben simply smiled softly as tears came down his eyes.

"Yea...I am…." He said as he began to laugh again, this time he had tears going down his eyes a bit as Nana hugged him tightly.

"Thank you for saving Papa…" She whispered to him.

"All in a day's work for Ben Tennyson…"He said with a warm smile, a smile that Nana returned.

"But do you really think it's easy to find redemption?" She asked him.

Ben sighed. "It all depends….there are some people who can't be redeemed, and some who can be...you know one of my best friends, was a former criminal and he changed."

"Really?" Nana asked in astonishment.

"Yep, but it's up to them whether or not they want redemption, and I think your papa and Mariko want it..so all we can do is pray." He said to her, making her feel better a bit.

"BEN! NANA!" They both turned to see Kaede looking at them with her big smile. Ben and Nana could summarize that she had gone back to her Nyu stage. The girl ran over to them with concern. "Ben and Nana hurt?" She asked.

Ben chuckled a bit as he and Nana got up. "Yea, but not too badly…" Of course, he was bruised up and had dry blood on his face going down..but he didn't care, as long as Nana and Nu were safe..it was alright with him.

"C'mon you guys, lets go home." He said with a smile.

"Yes!" Nyu said, grabbing hold of his hand, and Nana linking an arm around him and they all began to walk home.

* * *

_Enoshima Bridge_

Kouta was still waiting there for them all. And he was worried, it's been an hour since Nyu ran off, and he was getting worried sick.

"Where the-?" but he soon saw three figures and saw that it was Nyu, Ben, and Nana coming up. Making him sigh with relief. "Thank God!" He exclaimed. "Do you have any ide-?" But when he saw Ben And Nana 's injuries he was worried.

"Ben, Nana!" He said with worry as he ran towards them both with concern in his eyes. "What happened to you both?"

"It's alright Kouta…" Ben said with a small smile, "Everything is alright."

"Like hell it is!" Kouta argued. "You and Nana are both injured, and Ben, you're bleeding!" He said with concern. "And...is one of Nyu's horns off?!" He asked with a shocked tone in his voice. C'mon, let's get you all home and cleaned up!" He said. Kouta then grabbed Nana and gave her a piggyback ride as Nyu still held onto Ben's arm, never warning to let go from him.

Ben looked at Nyu and frowned a bit, while the voice was not in control now...he knew that it was still lurking around in Nyu's mindset….he was gonna have to wait a few months before Paradox sees him again….he hoped that those months would come fast.

Kouta, who was still holding Nana, looked at both Ben and Nana and was suspicious and curious. Where the hell were they at for the last few hours? And where did they get those injuries? And how did Nyu's horn go off?

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Yuka, Mayu, and Nozomi were all still waiting for the others to get back. Yuka was getting both nervous and a bit angry at them being out this time of late, but her motherly instinct kept her from being too mad. Mayu was worried for her older brother figure and Nana, worried that something happened, and Nozomi was worried for them as well.

"I swear...where could they be?" Yuka asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "They all should have been back by now…" She said.

"I hope nothing bad happened…" Nomi said with a nervous tone in her voice while biting her lip.

"Same.." Mayu said with worry. " _Nana...Ben...please come back safe…_ " She thought. As the three girls were in their own thoughts they heard a door slid open.

"Yuka!" Kouta called out, much to their delight. "Get some wet towels, Nana and Ben both got injured somehow." He said to her.

The three girls present were both shocked. But they were more shocked when Kouta and the rest all entered the kitchen and they saw both Ben And Nana injured and had blood on themselves.

"BEN, NANA!" Mayu yelled worriedly as she ran over and gave her big brother a big hug, a hug that Ben returned. "What happened?" She asked as she then hugged Nana. "We were all so worried!"

"Are you alright?" Nozomi asked as she walked over and pulled Ben into a gentle hug.

"Yea...we're fine…" Nana said in a soft tone of voice. Ben could see her look sad and sighed about it. But then he felt dread when he saw Yuka come over with a stern look on her face.

"Do you have any idea how long we were waiting for you both?" She asked, making Ben drop his head and nod in silence. Yuka's stare then became soft as she pulled Ben in for a hug. "But I'm so glad you are both safe," She said soothingly as she then gave Ben a kiss on his head, and she did the same to Nana.

Nyu noticed this and couldn't help but get jealous.

_5 minutes later…._

After Ben, Nana, and Nyu got cleaned up, everyone was now sitting down and eating Soumen Noodles. But Ben and Nana weren't really eating...the events of that night are still going on in their heads….

" _Everything is just...I'm glad Kurama and Mariko are alright..but still…_ " He thought as he just looked at his bowl.

Mayu took notice of the two and got a bit worried. Why weren't they eating? Did something happen to them?

"Are you guys alright?" Mayu asked with concern. "You haven't eaten…" She said.

"Oh?" Ben asked. "It's just..well…" He didn't really know what to say, instead, he got up. "Yuka, I'm sorry, but I'm not really hungry...I'm gonna go to bed early...goodnight…" He said as he walked out of the room. Leaving everyone both confused and worried.

"Ben?" Nyu asked with concern. A Concern that Mayu, Nozomi, and Yuka expressed as well. Nana looked to where Ben and left and sighed as well.

"I'm sorry..but I'm not hungry either…" She said as she left the table and pout of the room. Leaving everyone even more concerned.

"What The hell happened to them?" Kouta asked. "I mean...they look...distracted about something."

"Yea.." Yuka said. "But we can't push them though….maybe tomorrow we can all do something together. To get their minds off whatever it is they are upset about."

"Yea..maybe.." Kouta said as he took a sip of his tea. " _But still...what happened tot hem that caused their injuries?_ "

_30 minutes later…._

Ben was laying on his futon, he couldn't sleep...the nights event playing in his head. While he was glad that Mariko and Kurama were saved...but all of what Shirakawa had said...it was in his head and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He had to do something about it...but of course PAradox had told him that the Plumbers were prepping up...he was hoping...if Nyu really was in fact the Queen...maybe she could possibly tell everyone else at the Institute that they can all change for the better or something.

"Well...I should also train to use my new Diclonius as well." He said. "Still I wonder what her name should be….I think I'll call her...Sakura….maybe…" He then tried to think of a name but shrugged it off. "I'll think about it tomorrow." And he closed his eyes, but as he was about to hit the hay he heard his door slide open to see Nyu coming in.

"Ben?" She asked as he walked close to him and knelt down. "Ben sad?" She asked.

"Huh? No, I'm not sad." Ben reassured her. "I swear...I wonder how I can meet Lucy again…." He thought.

"Nyu sleep here?" She asked.

"Huh?" Ben asked her.

"Nyu, sleep here with you?" She pleaded.

Ben's face became as red as a tomato at the question, sure he liked her but….well...he didn't really know how to respond...especially since she did try to kill him hours ago….but this was Nyu...not the Voice…

"Well..I guess…" He said.

"Yayy!" She said happily as she then got under the covers with Ben, with the girl scooting over and snuggling up to him, with the boy turning cherry red at feeling her chest on his side, and her arms going around him, but he then shook it off as he then wrapped his arms around her as well.

But still, he smiled as she began to fall asleep, he then moved down and gave her a kiss on the cheek, to which the girl giggled a bit at.

"Goodnight Nyu.." Ben said softly.

"Goodnight Ben…" Nyu said as the two began to fall asleep. Tonight was hell for our Omnitrix wielder, what with the deaths and beatings and shit…. but finding himself in his temporary home with his new friends; with a boy who was almost like an annoying brother, a girl who was like a stern older sister, two girls who were like his younger sisters, a nervous girl who was like a shy sister, and a girl who had he was beginning to fall in love with….he felt like he was in heaven...

"Nyu….love...Ben…" Nyu said softly, but unfortunately Ben did not hear her as he was already asleep at this point….

As Ben was holding her in his arms he opened his eye briefly to take a look at Nyu's head. " _I know your in there somewhere..._ " He thought, talking to the Voice. " _I swear, the next time we meet...I'll go full out on you...normally I don't kill my enemies..but you are too dangerous...next time we meet...I will go all out and find a way to get you out of her mind._ " He then said something else that was not directed towards the Voice. " _Nyu...Lucy...Kaede.. whatever...I promise...I will save you..._ " He thought has he went to sleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow…..so much stuff going on in this chapter huh folks? So Ben And Nana both clashed with the DNA Voice, who was taking possession over Lucy's body. And after a confrontation, Ben was able to save both Mariko, Shirakawa, and Nana. Kurama also shot one of the Diclonius Queens horns off, redesigning her back to Nyu. Paradox came by and offered to take Kurama, Mariko, and Shirakawa back home to find redemption and they accepted. What next will our hero have to encounter? We will have to wait and see.
> 
> Paradox also mentioned how he had told the plumbers about everything going on and they were planning on coming to the world to raid the Institute. I got some big plans for the second half of the story. Also, Gwen, Kevin, and Max will appear in the story at some point as well
> 
> The next chapter will be another slice of life chapter with everyone going out for a while. Possibly Tokyo. Also, after the next one, is where I'm gonna take a break from the story for a while.
> 
> So I know some of you might be questioned on the whole Mariko thing, and trust me, it was really hard for me to decide. I created a poll to see if I should keep her alive or not and the results were a tie, so I decided to keep her alive. I feel like maybe she deserves a chance at redemption. You all might not like my idea, but it's my story.
> 
> So...who should I name Ben's Diclonius form? Let me know on what kind of name I should give her.
> 
> Anyways, please don't forget to read and review, I'm always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	26. Tokyo and Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody so this chapter is going to be another breather until more shit hits the fan. Because after what had happened in the last chapter, everyone deserves to relax for the time being. So for this one, the gang is going to go to Tokyo to spend the day together and Ben will encounter some old friends. Who are they? We will have to see :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network.
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

_Maple Inn_

Ben was on the ground, panting, blood going down his face, and he was all beaten up. He looked around to see Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, Nana, Wanta, Nozomi, Kevin, Gwen, Max, and his parents on the ground lying in a pool of their brown blood. He panted and tried to get back up, but was punched in the face by a fist to the face, causing him to skid right back into a wall.

The culprit? The DNA Vice, who was now glaring down at him with a dark smile as she used her vectors to grab him and drag him to her face.

“Did you really think you can beat me, human?” She snarkily asked as she then looked at his arm that bore the Omnitrix. “How will you be willing to fight without your arm?” She asked as she used her vectors to easily rip off Ben’s arm.

This made the boy yell in pain and anguish as the Voice then used a vector to plunge itself in Ben's stomach, causing him to stop screaming and widen his eyes at the pain. Blood was coming out of his mouth as he was gurgling on it. His vision was becoming a bit blurry as he looked back at the Voice.

“You're useless, pathetic….you failed to save them, you failed to save those two bitches….and now...you die like an animal.“ She said cruelly as she then raised another vector and was about to strike him down again.

“HA!!” Ben shouted with shock as he sat right up out of his futon. He was breathing fast and heavy, sweat was going down his face and body. He turned so see that Nyu luckily didn't wake up from his fright, her sleeping, facing away from him.

Ben sighed in relief, but he was still trembling and shaking from this dream. “Water...need water.” He whispered to himself as he then carefully got out of his futon, trying not to wake up Nyu. He then carefully opened the slide door and walked out.

As he approached the kitchen, he heard someone gulping and he then became cautious, he reached for the Omnitrix as he slowly got to the kitchen to see who it was. To his relief, it was Nana and Mayu, the latter wrapping the former in a comforting hug.

“Hey…” Ben said, getting their attention, making both girls smile a bit. When he saw Nana, he saw that her eyes were a bit red, a hint that she had been crying. “Nightmare?” He asked,

“Y-yea…” Nana said with a downtrodden voice, Mayu rubbing Nana’s back to calm her down. “I just….I saw everybody….You, Papa, Mariko, Mayu, Kouta, Yuka, and Nozomi….all of you laying on the ground….in a pool of blood.” As she explained tears began to build up in her eyes again. “And then….Lucy...she was there, and...and..” She began to panic as tears went down her eyes further. 

That is until Mayu then brought the horned girl in for a cooldown hug. “Shhhh.” Mayu said as she hugged her and circled her hand behind Nana’s back, just like how her father, her real father, did for her when she was younger. While Mayu was comforting her, she also had some tears going down her eyes, feeling bad for Nana having that bad dream.

Ben walked in and entered in the hug, wrapping one arm around Mayu, and wrapping the other around Nana, this made both girls cry into the older boys shoulders. After everything that has happened a few hours ago, Ben made it a promise that he would not let anything happen to them...to all of them.

“Ben...can you promise me something, please?” Nana asked as she took her head out of his shoulders and looked at him with her red, tear-filled eyes. “Please….don't ever die….please...I can't bear to see anyone I care about die….”

“I..I also request the same thing.” Mayu asked. “Please don't ever die Ben….at least not yet...you’re one of the many people who are important to me in my life….please, don't ever die on me.” She pleaded.

Ben found the requests to be a bit hard, especially since he remembered a time where he almost risked his life to have the aliens in his watch be free and all. But he would be willing to do anything for his friends.

“I’ll do my best.” He said to them, making the girls look at him. “The life of a superhero is never for the meek of heart, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you both don't suffer.” He said with a small smile, making both girls sniffle a bit before they hugged him again, the love they had for Ben being the one major thing to their happiness.

After a few minutes, the three then calmed down a bit before they all turned in for the night. Ben wished his sisters goodnight before returning to his own room. When he closed the slide he saw that Nyu was awake, and she looked a bit worried.

“Oh, sorry Nyu,” He said. “I didn't know you were awake.” He said to her.

“Ben alright?” Nyu asked as she stared at him with worry. Ben reassured her to stay in the futon as he then got down to get back into it.

“Yea, I’m alright, just had a bad dream as all.” He said to her, making her look at him with some concern. “Nyu, don't worry about it alright? It’s all fine.” He said with a smile. Making Nyu nod a bit, as he was about to get back in, she bit her bottom lip with nervousness...she wanted to say it...those words again she said to him hours ago….

“Nyu...love...you..” She said under her breath and twiddling her fingers.

Ben then looked at her with confusion. “What was that Nyu?” He asked. Nyu then trembled and then with force, she grabbed Ben and shoved him to the floor, now Nyu was on top of Ben, her hands on his wrists, and Ben looked up in alarm. Worried that the Voice might have come back or something.

“Nyu...love….you.” She said to him. “Nyu love you Ben.” She said to him, finally, after so much confusion, she finally revealed how she felt for Ben.

As for Ben himself, well he was blushing madly, and it wasn't just because he had a girl he liked on top of him. It was because she was actually confessing her feelings for him, he knew she was developing feelings for him, but he was nervous because of Lucy or the Voice.

Ben didn't know what to do now. He liked Nyu...but then there was the DNA Voice….but he was going to try to take the voice down….and hopefully talk to Lucy again.

“I...I like you as well Nyu.” Ben said with a small smile, and he stood up to meet Nyu, who was looking surprised and was blushing a bit. “When I first met you, I just shrugged it off as a small crush, I didn't think I would find another girlfriend after Julie...but Nyu..you’re kind, sweet, and beautiful and even though you act like a kid, I know you are making progress into trying to act like the rest of us….but still, I like you as well.” Ben said as he held onto her hands and kissed them gently.

Nyu looked at him for a few seconds, her eyes beginning to water as her small frown became a smile. She then launched herself at Ben and slammed her lips into his, taking the boy by surprise, but nonetheless, he kissed her right back. His hands gently grabbed her face and Nyu’s arms wrapped around his neck.

Ben and Nyu were now in a state of no worries. Now it was their time to be together, alone, no one to bother then, and no one to tell them to stop. After a few minutes. The both broke apart. But Nyu wanted to do more...a lot more, and Ben possibly knew it but wanted her to stop so he could talk.

“Oh boy...um…” He said nervously. “Just listen Nyu, alright. I do like you, but the thing is..you still act like an infant...sorta…” He then grabbed her hands and squeezed them gently again. “I want to wait until your vocabulary grows a bit more and wait till you begin to act a bit more like me, Kouta, Yuka, and Nozomi...alright?”

Nyu understood what he meant..sorta, of course, she wanted to do more, she wanted to stick her tongue inside Ben's mouth, she wanted to taste him and explore his whole body...but if he wanted to wait, then Nyu would have to oblige to his request.

“Alright.” She said with a small smile.

“Good.” Ben said as he kissed her on the lips again, making the girl blush. “Now c’mon, let's get back to sleep alright?” He asked. Nyu nodded her head at him and the two then laid back down, this time, Nyu rested her head on the left side of his chest and held onto his right hand, and Ben wrapped his left arm around Nyu’s waste, holding her gently yet firmly.

“ _Thank god no one heard us…_ ” He thought nervously. Nyu giggled at him and reached du0 to kiss him on the cheek, and Ben's response was a kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight Nyu.”

“Goodnight Ben…” Nyu said sleepily, and the two began to close their eyes and drift off to sleep, but not before one more thing though…

“Love you...Ben.” Nyu said softly.

“Love you to...Nyu.” He said as the two finally drifted off. With the girl he loved in his arms, Ben no longer had a nightmare and enjoyed a good night's sleep.

* * *

_Mindscape/Orphanage_

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT!!” Lucy screamed at The DNA Voice, who didn't really flinch at the girls yelling, but was rolling her eyes at her.

“Because child.” She said to her. “They all deserved it, he was trying to-”

“WRONG!!” Lucy screamed. “I am all confused about this...but I wanted him to explain to me more about this…..but you...you…” She said as she nearly teared up.

The DNA Voice scoffed and looked away. “Child, you're just confused about him. You don't see him as that other girl sees.” She tried so to say to her, she then tried to place an arm on her head, but Lucy smashed it away.

“Don’t you fucking touch me, bitch!” She snarled as she then walked away in anger. Tears going down her face. “ _Ben….Nana….I’m so sorry…_ ” She thought as tears went down further.

The Voice saw her leave and growled. “ _Damn those little brats._ ” She thought. “I worked her too hard and long, and I’ll be damned if my plans will be ruined by some kid with a fancy watch! Next time….I’m the one taking control, and once I do...the boy will be dead in a pool of his own damn blood!” She growled.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Nyu had softly yawned as she woke up the next morning, she slowly opened up her eyes to blurry vision she used her free hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes and turned to see Ben. who was still sleeping. 

Nyu gave a small smile as she leaned up to give him a soft kiss on the lips, hoping to wake him up, but to her misfortune, it didn’t, making the girl pout cutely.

“Ben…” She said to him as she began to shake him. “Wake up!” She said to him, this caused Ben to stir a bit as he then woke up, his eyes were a bit blurry, but he rubbed them so he could be more awake, he turned to see Nyu looking down at him.

“Oh..morning Nyu.” He said with a smile on his face. The honored girl giggled as she gave him a peck on the cheek. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.” she simply said to him with a smile. Ben chuckled a bit as he got up to stretch. Nyu got up with him and pulled him into her, causing him to yelp, which was silenced by Nyu placing her lips on Ben's cheek, making the boy blush a bit at the action. But he then shook the feelings away as he stared at her. “Sorry Nyu, but you need to go back to your room and get changed for today alright?” He asked her. Nyu pouted a bit, not wanting to leave him, and Ben chuckled a bit. “Nyu, c’mon, you need to go get dressed, alright?” He asked.

“Ok….” Nyu said with a frown and she went to his slide door and left, on her way, she passed by Yuka, who when she saw her, had a look of suspicion on her face.

Yuka then went inside Ben’s room, where he was still stretching. “Ben?”

“GAH!” Ben hollered as he tumbled a bit, he saved himself but was shocked by Yuka’s sudden appearance. “Oh, sorry Yuka, you scared me for a moment.”

Yuka simply sighed a bit before looking at him with a stern look. “Why was Nyu in your room Ben?” She asked as she narrowed her eyes at him, this made the boy a bit nervous though. “You two weren't doing anything indecent here, were you?” 

“N-no Yuka, I swear!” Ben said nervously, sweat going down his head. “For some reason, she came into my room last night and wanted to sleep with me, I don't know why but she wanted to, but I let her, don't worry.”

Yuka looked at him for a few more minutes to see if he was lying or not, and after a few minutes, she sighed a bit. “Alright then.” She said to him. “But there better not be any of that here you got it?”

“Yes Ma’am!” Ben said with worry.

“Now then.” Yuka said, her frown turning into a genuine smile. “Come on out and eat, I got an announcement to make.”

“Oh..ok.” Ben said with a smile.

_10 minutes later…._

Everybody was all sitting down and eating breakfast together. Everyone took a look at Ben and Nyu, who was sitting next to him and had an arm wrapped around his own. Kouta, in particular, was taken back a bit to see Nyu treat Ben so affectionately, after a few minutes Nyu had begged Ben to feed her and so he did, much to her delight.

“ _What the hell is going on?_ “ Kouta thought, a part of him was a bit peeved, he had been gaining feelings for Nyu as well, and if she was with Ben then...wait, why should he be mad? If Nyu wanted to be with Ben then let her….but he was a bit conflicted as well, because whenever he would look at Yuka...he would feel something.

Yuka was annoyed with Nyu being over affectionate with Ben and so she decided to kmae her announcement. “Listen up everyone!” She said to them all. “After much consideration, I thought it would be fun if we all went out today together.”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Mayu said as she held onto Wanta with care, with the dog barking in agreement. 

“Nyu!!” Nyu said happily, not moving from her spit next to Ben. 

Ben smiled a bit before turning to Yuka. “So where are we going to go today?” He asked.

“Well, I figured we could all spend a day exploring Tokyo.” She said to them all with a smile. “And I felt like we could all deserve a little downtime, especially after two certain people had us worried sick last night.” She said as she narrowed her eyes at Ben and Nana, who both looked away in embarrassment. Nyu simply rubs Ben’s hand in comfort. 

“Well, that sounds like a good idea though.” Mayu said with a smile. “Is Nozomi coming with us?”

“Yep! Her father already approved, surprisingly.” She said. Ben then looked down at his food, he hoped Nozomi was alright. “She will be meeting us at Kamakura Station in an hour, we will take the train there to Tokyo Station 1. I got the whole day planned for us!” She said with glee.

“Like what?” Kouta asked, drinking some of his tea with a raised eyebrow.

Yuka smiled back at her cousin. “Luckily for you all, I had the honor of listing some fun things for us all to do while we’re all in the city today. I want to visit the Tokyo Skytree, the Sensō-ji Shrine, Tokyo Tower, Ueno Park, and just explore you know? After that we can all go get some lunch and then we can go to Tokyo Joypolis!” she said with glee. “And after that, we all go out to eat and then finally we come back home.” She said

“Seems like you got this whole thing planned out perfectly Yuka.” Ben said as he ate a piece of sausage. 

Yuka smiled at him. “Yeppers, now everyone hurry and eat.” She said. “Nozomi is going to meet us all at Kamakura Station soon, and we need to get prepared.”

“Uh...Yuka?” Kouta said. “How exactly are we going to pay for everything?” He asked. Yuka simply smiled and turned away. 

“Not telling.” She said as she then turned to Nana and winked at her, and the pinkette winked and smiled back a bit. Ben saw this out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow.

_5 minutes later…._

After they all got done eating, everyone had all cleaned up and got ready for the day together. Ben was currently getting his jacket on as he walked out of his room. As he was about to head for the kitchen area, he accidentally bumped into Mayu.

“Oh, sorry Mayu, are you alright?” He asked.

“Huh? Oh yeah!” Mayu said as she blushed out of embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn't see where I was going.” She said embarrassingly, Ben laughed a bit.

“Why are you apologizing? I’m the one who ran into you.” He said with a small smile, but then it faded a bit when he saw Mayu frown a bit. “Mayu I’m sore if-”

“No...it isn't that...it’s just...Nana told me...about what happened at Enoshima last night.” She said, Ben then had a solemn look on his face.

“Oh...ok.” He said he wasn't mad at Nana, but he was kinda hoping that it wouldn't go out into the public.

Mayu looked at him again. “I was just so worried after you both came back and left the table...I was worried about you, after we went to sleep, Nana woke up sweating badly and I took her to the kitchen for some water, she told me about what happened...and that's when you came in. She then looked down and had some of her own tears go down. “I was so worried...but I’m so glad that you’re both safe...and I’m so glad you were able to help out that one girl, and her Papa.” She said.

Ben smirked a bit as he sighed a bit. “It was a hard thing to do, but I am glad that I rescued her too. Even though it did get me injured in the process.”

“Speaking of, are you ok?” Mayu asked with concern, you looked so bad last night.” 

"Eh, I'm all right, just nothing but a shower couldn't fix, along with some bandages.” He said as he ruffled her hair. “Anyway just forget about it alright? It’s all over and done with.” He said with a smile. 

“Ok then,” Mayu said with a smile, and she then hugged him again. “Still, I’m so glad you're alright Big Brother.” She said happily. Ben smiled and hugged her back.

* * *

_Train Ride_

After they all left the house and took a cab to the train station, they met up with Nozomi and they all began their long ride to Tokyo. Ben was pretty excited, he had never been to Tokyo before, so he was pretty excited by the trip. Nana and Nyu were wearing caps to hide the horns on their heads

Nana was also pretty excited as well, this was the first time in her life that she was going to explore an area outside Kamakura. She was just so excited about it that she couldn't stop shaking in her seat with dizziness, Mayu looked over and smiled.

“This is the first time you’re going to Tokyo right Nana?” She asked.

“Yea!” the horned girl said. “I’m so excited, I can’t wait to see such amazing things!” Mayu simply giggled at the girl's enthusiasm.

Ben was looking out by the window, the events of his dream still going on in his mind, it was making him a bit nervous, still, he was able to rescue Mariko, Kurama, and Shirakawa….that was something….but he was still concerned for Lucy...or Kaede? It was gonna get some getting used to, but for the time being, he would refer to her as Nyu for now.

Speaking of which, the girl was resting her head on Ben’s shoulder looking up at him, her face is blushing a bit as her arm was wrapped around his own. Now Nyu was beginning to question herself for a while now...but after so much thought...she finally made up her mind….her heart now belonged to Ben.

“ _Nyu like Ben._ ” She thought happily as she continued to rest her head on Ben’s shoulder, making the boy blush.

Kouta, who was sitting with Yuka and Nozomi, was looking over and had a look of anger and jealousy on his face, he was beginning to grow feelings for Nyu as well, and it didn't seem fair that You liked Ben. Although...he did remember the time where he yelled at her back when they first met...maybe...he wasn't the girl for him after all, but he couldn't help it though, every time he got a glimpse of her he felt something….and still, he still felt like he knew her from somewhere. But everytime, he tries to remember his head hurts….what's going on?

Yuka looked over at Kouta and frowned, why can't he remember the festival a few years back? And why does he get a bit angry when he sees Nyu and Ben? Yuka sighed and looked down on the ground.

Nozomi, who was wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers was reading from her music book, she still didn't have the courage to go and tell her father that she wanted to pursue her dream, and she glanced over at Ben. that boy was so nice and not to mention, the first American she has met before, she remembered his kind words that day when they were all at Enoshima….maybe...could she ask him to come back home with her at some point?

* * *

_Tokyo City_

Once everyone had left the station they were all now in the large crowded city. Nana and Nyu had a look of awe on their faces, never having seen anything so big with lots of people before. Ben too was amazed as this was the first time he has been outside of his own country. Of course, the country is in his dimension.

He was also kinda nervous because he didn't want to make himself look like an idiot, so Yuka and Kouta would be by him to make sure he didn't do something stupid. 

“Ok, so where do we go now?” Ben asked, but he then felt a tug as he sighed a bit. “Nyu, you need to relax alright?” But the honored girl couldn't handle her excitement, she wanted to go all over the place and was tugging on Ben's arm, making the Omnitrix wielder sigh a bit.

Nana also wanted to go off and explore, but Yuka did not want them to separate...especially after last night. But still, this was so exciting though.

“Ok guys, so the first thing I want to do it head on over to the Tokyo Skytree,” she said as she smiled at them all and began to lead them away. Meanwhile, Nana was a bit confused, and so was Ben.

* * *

_Tokyo Skytree_

“Wow!” Nana said with amazement as she and the others were now at the famous Tokyo Skytree, this large building serves as an observation tower where tons of people can go out and observe all of Tokyo. 

Nyu and Nana were ecstatic and pretty excited to see such amazing observations, Kouta and Yuka looked out in interest, Mayu and Nozomi were amazed. Ben was pretty amazed as he had never seen this much before. Of course, he had seen a city before, but this was in Bellwood.

“ _Not even Way Big is this tall!_ ” Ben thought with amusement. " _As Way Big,_ _I bet I could climb on top of the thing and swing my arms like King Kong._ " He thought with amusement. He then felt an arm pull on him and Nyu was smiling and pointing to another part of the tower and dragged him over to see it.

“So high!” Nyu said with amazement. “We’re so high!”

Ben chuckled at her excitement. “Yep, we’re so high alright.” He said with a smile as he continued to lookout. He then felt something on his cheek and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nyu give him a peck on the cheek, making her giggle and him to blush a bit 

Yuka and Kouta looked over at the two and had different reactions, Yuka had a warm smile on her face, glad to see that Nyu and Ben were spending some time together rather than Nyu being around Kouta. But Kouta was jealous, of course, he didn't want to be, but he couldn't help it.

“I swear, Ben and Nyu have been getting along much better, don't you think?” Yuka asked.

“Yea...I guess…” Kouta said through gritted teeth. His hands gripping the bars a bit hard, Yuka saw and got concerned.

“Kouta, are you ok?” Yuk asked his cousin with concern. Kouta looked down and noticed his hands and so he let go.

“Yea, just fine.” He said as he looked back to Ben and Nyu and sighed. “ _Why is this bothering me so much?_ ” He thought.

Mayu looked over and smiled to see her big brother smiling, it was so different from the previous night where he looked a bit distant and upset about something, she was wondering if he would be able to spend some time with her.

“ _I do hope Wanta’s alright though._ ” She thought with concern, before they all left, they had to go to a kennel vet to have them watch Wanta while they were all in Tokyo, they promised to get him back when they got back. 

Nana wanted to go off on her own to explore, but Yuka told her not to, because of what happened last night, she didn't want her to wander off. Flashbacks of the previous night were playing in her mind as she thought of Kurama, Mariko, and Shirakawa. She wished that they were here with everyone else, looking out over the city.

She looked to the side and saw an image of Mariko, Kurama, and Shirakawa smiling, and looking out over the city, Nana had a lone tear going down her face. Of course, she was happy that the three had gotten away from this place, but she wished they could’ve stayed for a little while. She looked back to the center and breathed a bit as more tears fell from her eyes.

Mayu saw this and went over and wrapped an arm around her, Nana turned to look at her but had some issues, due to her eyes being all blurry form the tears, Mayu smiled a bit and Mayu rubbed the girl's tears away with her thumb.

Nozomi was reading some sheet music from her book as she was also looking out into the city, her look going from Yuka to the others and smiling to herself.

“ _These past few weeks have been so amazing, they’re all so kind and sweet...I wonder….if Father will let me stay with them…_ ” she thought, all she could do was hope, right?

* * *

_Ueno Park_

After visiting the Skytree, the group had all decided to head for Ueno Park. This park was popular due to the fact that the Cherry Blossoms were all in trees, Nana was running ahead of the group and smiling with joy at seeing it all, it was so lovely.

“Everything here is so lovely!” See? I told you. “I have never seen so many blossoms like this before! It’s really great!” Nana said with enthusiasm. 

“Great!” Nyu said with the same enthusiasm as her small friend. Everyone from Maple Inn was smiling from the girl's enthusiasm. Ben took a glance at Mayu, who looked downwards a bit, something that concerned him.

“Mayu?” Ben asked. “Are you ok?” 

Mayu looked up at him and said, “Yea, I’m alright...I am.” She said, but she didn’t really sound like it though, Ben didn't want to push or pry, but he wanted to know what was wrong. But now wasn't a good time though. 

“The Blossoms are coming in good this year, huh?” Kouta asked the others.

“Seems like it.” Yuka said, when he felt his presence to her, she blushed a bit. Nozomi saw too and somewhat felt a bit jealous at seeing Kouta smiling at Yuka like that...hmmm..

Nana and Nyu were both amazed by the scenery and were running around under Ben’s supervision. He was making sure that nothing happened that caused their hats to go flying off.

“Gotta stay sharp on this one.” He thought with determination. The last thing they needed right now was for their hats to go flying off, having many people see their horns and hell breaking loose.

“Ben!” Nyu said happily as she then dragged him over to see the trees. “Cherry Blossoms!” She said with glee.

Ben chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Yep, they sure do look amazing.” He said with a smile. Everyone else was looking and had some mixed reactions. Kouta looked somewhat peeved, Yuka and Mayu were smiling a bit and Nozomi had a small smile as he watched the scene.

As Ben was simply smiling seeing the girls' antics, he spotted something from afar, three figures to be honest, and they….looked familiar. Was it...no, it couldn’t be. He then decided to break off from the group and go on ahead, making everyone look confused.

“Ben?” Kouta asked. “Where’re you going?” He asked with confusion. He then looked to the others. “Let’s go follow him.” He said with a corner and the others agreed. Nyu especially since she didn't want to leave Ben alone for a minute...so to speak.

After a few minutes, Ben finally got up close to get a good glimpse of the figures...and you know it was?

“Gwen? Kevin? Grandpa?!” Ben asked in shock. Yep, it was his cousin, his best friend, and his grandfather and they were all walking in Ueno Park together. They all turned back to see who called them, and when they did. They all smiled.

( _Eyecatch featuring Gwen showing Nana and Mayu her abilities_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Max presenting hsi cooking to the residents of Maple Inn, with everyone else sweat dropping at the sight of it_ )

After reuniting, Ben gave hugs to Gwen, Kevin, and Max, Happy o be with them again.

“I’m so happy to see you alive and well Ben.” Gwen said with a smile. “It’s like you haven't changed at all.” Bens simply chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

Kevin smirked. “So this is where you got landed in huh? Never would I have figured that you would end up in another dimension.” He said. “Especially one that resembles ours a bit.”

Ben simply chuckled a bit. “I feel you buddy.”

Max ruffled Ben’s hair and chuckled. “Please tell me you’ve been behaving yourself.” He said this made Ben smile.

“Yes I ha-”

“BEN!!” Nyu yelled as she then immediately glomped him from behind, shocking the others a bit. Ben got his footing back to try to pry the girl off of him.

“Nyu!” Ben said to her. “Calm down!“ He said as he tried to pry her off of him, but unfortunately, she still stuck to him like glue, and it made him sigh.

Kevin saw this and snickered. “Oh, so you got a new girlfriend, huh Tennyson?” He asked with a smirk, this made the Omnitrix wielder to glare at him for a bit. After a few minutes, the other Mapel Inn residents all came up to them all.

“Ben, what are yo-'' But Yuka stopped when she saw Gwen, Kevin, and Max. “Oh...who are they?”

Ben smiled. “Guys, this is my cousin Gwen, my best friend Kevin, and my Grandpa Max.” He said this made some of the residents look at the foreigners with surprise, but still. Yuka smiled.

“It’s very nice to meet all of you.” She said as she and the rest of the Maple Inn residents bowed their heads in respect, confusing some of the others though..but they bowed their heads as well (at least, Gwen forced Kevin to) Well, why don’t we all go get something to eat then, shall we?” Yuka asked.

_20 minutes later…._

After they all left Ueno Park they stopped by the Oreryu Shio-Ramen shop to get some ramen as lunch for them all. Afterward, they all found a good place to sit and eat.

Max slurped some of his own Ramen as he stared at Yuka and Kouta. “I hope my grandson hasn’t been giving you all any trouble.” He said to them all.

“Nah, he’s been great to have around.” Yuka said with a smile. “I mean he does tend to go off from time-to-time.” She said as she sent the boy a quick glare. “But still, he manages to come back.”

Gwen chuckled. “That’s Ben for you.” She said with a grin.

Kevin snickered. “Agreed, Tennyson always seems to find himself getting into trouble usually.” He said with a big grin. Ben glared at him briefly before turning back to hsi food.

“So...um…” Mayu said shyly. “How is...well…” She tried to ask them how his home life is, but she was just too nervous and shy to do it.

“Are you alright young one?” Max asked with concern. Ben saw that Mayu was a bit nervous and placed a comforting hand onto her shoulder, Mayu looked up and smiled softly when she saw Ben’s smile. This did not go unnoticed by the other residents either.

“Mayu?” Kouta asked. “What’s wrong?”

Mayu then looked over at Kouta. “Huh? Oh..nothing, just remembering something…” She said as he looked down a bit. Gwen, Kevin, and Max were concerned, but Ben gave them all a look that said ‘ _I’ll explain later._ ’

Nyu however was snuggled up to Ben and was pleading for him to feed her, to where he did it reluctantly, mainly because he was feeding her in front of his family….

“Man Ben, you snagged yourself a girl huh?” Gwen asked in a teasing tone.

“Shut it!” He said with an embarrassed face. Kouta looked at them and looked somewhat peeved at this though.

“So,” Yuka said, trying to change subjects. “Did you three come to see Ben?” 

Gwen smiled as she slurped up her ramen. “Yea, we missed Ben so we decided to come and hang out with him for a little while...but we don’t really have any place to go though.” She said solemnly, making some of the others feel bad, but Kouta was confused though.

“Well since you all got here isn't there some-”

“If you want, you can stay at Maple Inn with us all.” Yuka said with a smile. “Right Kouta?”

Kouta looked at her and at Ben's family and sighed a bit. “Well, yea. We got plenty of room there.”

Max smiled at them. “Thank you, and don't worry, I'll get to show you all my amazing cooking from home.” He said proudly. This made Ben, Gwen, and Kevin grimace a bit. Along with some of Maple Inn, despite them never eating any of Max’s cooking, from what Ben has said about it, they weren’t exactly excited about it..but still they would eat it all to make him happy.

As they continued to eat, they overheard some talking coming from nearby. 

“Did you hear?” One person said. “People say that Ultraman was sighted somewhere in Enoshima last night!” He said to his female companion.

“Really?” she asked, and the man nodded his head.

Gwen, Kevin, and Max looked over at Ben and raised their eyebrows at him, making Ben give them the same look. Nana looked down a bit as she ate her food nervously and Kouta? Well, he didn't say anything at all.

“You know,” Yuka said to them all. “I have been hearing everyone talk about Ultraman being at Enoshima last night...I wonder why they all keep saying that though…” She said with a finger on her chin in confusion.

“Yea…” Nozomi said as she took a dip for her bottled drink. “I’ve been hearing it too, I overheard my father saying something about it too.” She said. “But he also said that people there were possibly seeing things due to drunkenness.

Kouta himself looked down a bit, he knew that no one was drunk last night when he saw the creature as well. But at the same time, he also took a glance over at Ben and Nana...did they see the creature as well?

Ben looked down a bit, he tried so hard to try to keep himself secret, but unfortunately, now the story of himself was going around like wild-fire…

“ _And I tried so hard to keep myself a secret…_ ” Ben thought with dread. Still, he had to turn into Way Big in order to stop that missile strike, so he had no regrets about doing it though, he saw Nana giving him an appreciative smile and he smiled back a bit.

Max finished his ramen and set his bowl down. “Excuse me, but would it be alright if I spoke with my grandson and the pink-haired girl for a moment please?” He asked. The residents of Maple Inn were confused and pointed at either Nyu and Nana, this made the older man chuckle a bit. “Nana I mean.”

“Oh, ok.” Yuka said. “But please do come back, alright?” She asked with concern and sternness.

Ben rolled his eyes. “Don't worry Yuka, I'll be fine.” That little statement made Kouta scoff.

“I doubt that, especially after I found you covered in bruises last night.” He said as he ate some of his own ramen. This made Ben's family look at him with raised eyebrows, but decided to ask questions later.

_A Few Minutes Later…._

Ben, Nana, and Max found themselves in a small area where there weren't that many people. Nana looked nervous, what was going to happen? Was he going to ridicule her of her horns or something?

Max knelt down and gave the girl a friendly smile. “Don't be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you. He said. “I know that you're a Diclonious, your father told me so himself.” 

The mere mention of Kurma made Nana’s eyes go wide and she developed a big grin on her face. “You met Papa? How is he? How's Mariko? How-” But she was stopped by Max, who placed his hand on her mouth.

“Ease up kiddo,” the older man said with a smile and put his hand away. “Your father, sister, and mother are all safe and sound back at Plumber HQ.” He said with a grin.

“Mother?” Nana asked with a raised eyebrow. Was he talking about that Shirakawa woman? She wasn’t Nana’s mother….although, she wouldn't complain though...Nana never knew her real mother...but she guessed she wouldn't mind though….but she also thought of something else, did Ben's grandfather not mind her horns?

“You don’t mind my horns?” Nana asked the older man.

“Not at all,” Max said. “And they look cute as well, like a cat’s ears.” He said, this made Ben smile, knowing that his grandfather wouldn't mind at all.

Nana then smiled. “Thank you sir!” She said as he bowed with happiness at him, making Max smile a bit.

“No need to bow to me,” Max said. “But I do want to know though…” He then turned serious. “How much of this facility do you know about?” He asked with seriousness. Ben could see that Nana was trembling a bit but still Max was calm though. “You don't have to answer me, but I just want to know from your perspective, I already got some stuff from your family….but I want to know yours...but you don't have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Nana trembled again, the memories of all the shit she went through in that place were still fresh in her mind, and even though she did have a positive outlook due to Kurama...the pain she went through….it was still in her and it was hard.

“Sorry sir,” Nana said solemnly. “I just don’t want to talk about it just now.” She said, twiddling her fingers a bit.

Max sighed and looked at her sympathetically. “Don’t worry sweetie.” He said. “But still though, your father, sister, and mother are safe and sound.”

Nana smiled and then ran forward and hugged him. “Thank you!” She said happily as she still hugged him. Max was a bit startled but smiled and hugged her back, Ben watched with a smile on his face. “Now c’mon, we should be getting back to the others.” He said and with that, the three began walking back to their perspective group.

* * *

_Sensō-ji Shrine_

After their meal, they all went to the Sensō-ji Shrine. This particular shrine was one of the oldest temples in Japan, and also the most visited as well. The group was all now in the Nakamise Shopping Street, looking around at people buying stuff.

“ _This looks like a nice area to get some stuff._ ” Yuka thought to herself as she then looked at Ben and his family and smiled a bit. “Hey, guys?” She asked them. “What are your heights?” She asked.

**Ben Tennyson: 5’7**

**Gwen Tennyson: 5’6**

**Kevin Levin: 6’3**

**Max Tennyson: 6’3**

Great!” Yuka said with a smile. “Well be right back!” She said as she, Kouta, and Nana went to a vendor nearby, this may Be And the others raise eyebrows. They also decided to check out some of the vendors as well. There were lots of interesting things to get, so Gwen decided to get some as souvenirs to benign back home.

The whole time, Mayu was looking over at Ben’s family and was looking downwards, the flashbacks from her previous home-life were getting to her and she was trembling a bit...why though?

Ben saw this and looked concerned. “Mayu?” He asked. “Are you ok?” As he tried to place a gentle comforting pat on her shoulder she immediately pushed him away and ran right off. “MAYU!” Ben shouted, but the girl refused to listen and continued to run away. 

“Crap!” He said as he turned to face Gwen. “Gwen, you get the others and tell them what happened!” he said with seriousness. “I’m gonna go try to get her back, alright?” 

“Just go do more hero work cousin.” Gwen said to him as she then took off.

“Hardy-Har…” Ben deadpanned as he then took off himself to find Mayu, he had to ask people to excuse him due to it being a bit crowded though, he looked all over but no sign of the girl at all. _“Crap….time to go alien._ ” He thought as he then ran to a secluded area and looked around to see if anyone was watching him. “ _Good, better go Ghostfreak, no one will be able to see me._ ” He thought as he found his selected alien through the dial, and he pressed on it and was engulfed in bright green light.

“Alright,” The Ectonurite said in a low raspy voice. “Time to find my little sis.” He said as he turned invisible and took to the sky. He searched high and low but there wasn't any sign of her anywhere. “Damn….I don't see her…” He said as he continued to scan over the people. He then searched again until he spotted someone familiar.

“Nana?” He asked as he then flew towards her.

Mayu was in the Demboin Garden sitting down and her arms crossed. Of course, the garden was closed to the public, but she was able to get by security undetected. She was trembling a bit as tears went down her eyes.

“Daddy….” She said to herself as she flashbacked at a time where her old family was much happier. They were great, Holidays, family outs...it was amazing….but it all went downhill after her real father died and that….horrible man came in and did things to her, and her mother? She didn't give two shits about what happened….

But that wasn't all though. The feeling of a family wasn’ the only thing making Mayu tremble, it was something else indeed, so what was it? 

“Excuse me,” A guard said, causing Mayu to look up. “I don't know if you noticed but the garden is closed for visitors.” He said with a stern voice.

“Oh,” she said softly as she wiped her tears away. “I'm sorry.” She said again as she then began to get up, the guard untied her sniffles and got concerned.

“Are you alright kid?” He asked. “Did you lose your family or something?” He asked.

Mayu wiped her nose with a tissue she had on her. “No, I was-”

“MAYU!!” They both turned to see Ben running up to them. “Thank god above.” He said as he went up to them and looked down to put his hands on her shoulders. “Why did you run off on us?” He asked with concern in his voice, making the girl look upset.

“You know this girl?” The guard asked. Ben looked and nodded.

“Yea, I am a transfer student and she is my host sister.” Bens said with determination. Ma yu was shocked to see that Ben would lie about it so quickly, but the guard then looked back and forth a few times before sighing.

“Alright then, but make sure she stays with you, and make sure she follows rules, alright son?” Ben nodded his head. “Alright, you’re both free to go now.”

“Thank you.” they both said as they bowed and then walked out of the garden.

Ben took Mayu someplace private so they could talk.

“What's wrong, Mayu?” He asked with concern. “Why did you run away like that?”

Mayu looked at Ben, and then back at the ground and wiped a tear from her eye. “It’s just….I remember one time, my old family...we were so happy together….but after Papa died...it..” the memories of her stepfather doing…..bad things to her was fresh in her mind. “But I also find you and your family running together…..and it...I don't know...make me upset.”

Ben looked at her and was a bit hurt, of course, she was upset about her previous home life, but was she jealous about his home life? It was a bit strange...but at the same time, kinda sad due to the shit she went through.

“I know…” Mayu said as she wiped a tear away from her eye. “I know it sounds selfish of me...and I’m not trying to be….but I’m afraid….after seeing you reunite with your family….that you’re going to leave me.” whimpered as she then turned to face him again. “Ever since we met, you have been a joy in my life, I see you as my older brother. She then wrapped her arms around him as she buried her face into his chest. “I don't want you to leave! I don’t want you to abandon me!” She said as he began sobbing into his chest.

Ben now understood as to why she ran off and cried. She didn’t want Ben to leave there alone. He understood how she felt, the shit she went through back in her old house, and now she had a new one here. Ben saw Mayu as a younger sister and what she said about leaving...it hit him hard. He knew that he had to go back to his world at some point, after he got rid of the DNA Voice...but that also meant that he would be leaving his new friends behind...especially Nana and Mayu…

Ben then wrapped his arms around Mayu and rubbed her back gently. A tear going down his eye, he didn't want to leave her….but he couldn’t stay here as he had to go back to his world at some point to keep protecting it from threats….

“Mayu…” Ben said solemnly. But as soon as he was about to say something else, he heard someone's voice.

“Guys!” He and a red-eyed Mayu turn to see Gwen and the rest of the group coming up to them. “There you all are!”

Nyu ran and glomped both Ben and Mayu together, causing the two to fall down onto the ground in a thump.

“Woah, Nyu!” Ben said as he was trying to pray the girl off but to no avail. Yuka sighed and knelt down to their level.

“You both made us worried sick.” She said. “Mayu, why did you run off like that?” She asked with concern.

Mayu wiped her eyes a bit as Nyu continued to hug her. “I’m sorry, I was upset about something...that’s all.”

Kouta sighed a bit, not really wanting anyone to disappear after last night. “Well, we’re just glad you’re safe and all.” He said with a soft smile. He then saw Mayu, her frown still on her face. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Mayu then shook her head no. "I just...I'm sorry, but I kinda want to go back home now." She said solemnly. This made everyone go wide-eyed, why did she want to go now? They haven't even gotten to the other areas they wanted to explore.

"I'm sorry," Mayu said. " I just…." Not really knowing what to say to justify her reason.

Yuka sighed a bit before looking at her softly. "Ok, we can go if you want to Mayu."

This made Nana go wide-eyed. “Wha? But I wanted to see more sights!” She complained. This made Yuka go over and rub her back soothingly.

“Don’t worry Nana, I'm sure at some point we can all come back. Promise.” She said with a soft smile.

Nana looked downwards a bit. “Ok…” She said dejectedly. And with that, everyone had all decided to head back. As Ben was walking, he noticed Mayu standing a bit close to him and Nyu was clinging to his arm like always, making some of Ben’s family raise eyebrows.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Everyone had managed to go on back to Kamakura into Maple Inn. By the time they got back, it was already dark and Nozomi said goodnight to them all and that it was nice to meet Ben’s family. Now they were all sitting down at the table and eating some soba noodles.

“Thank you for letting us stay here for awhile.” Gwen said with a smile.

“You should’ve let me cook for you all instead.” Max offered, but this made Ben, Gwen, and Kevin's faces go a bit green for a bit.

Yuka smiled at the older man. “Well, maybe tomorrow you can make us all breakfast then.” She said, despite the fact that Ben was giving her a look that said. ‘ _Don't encourage him!_ ’ “But still, today was a great day though, right?” She asked.

“Yes!” Nyu said happily as she was still clinging to Ben’s arm, much to the annoyance of Kouta, and the snickering of Kevin.

“Damn Tennyson, how is it you attract pretty girls?” He asked.

Ben glared at him. “Shut it!” He snapped, making some of everyone snicker. Kouta then looked over at Ben’s family and narrowed his eyes on them.

“So you don't mind about you and Nana’s horns then?” He asked. Oh yea, they all figured out about the horns after arriving at the Inn.

“Nope,” Gwen said. “Trust us, we’ve seen some stuff before so horns on heads is nothing weird to us.”

This made everyone present look surprised.

“Really?” Mayu asked. “You all saw some weird stuff too?” She asked as Wanta was licking her face, making her giggle a bit.

“Yep,” Max said as he took a slurp of his soba. “Lots of stuff, especially in my time.” He said with a smirk. “And also, thank you for getting us Yukuta’s, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, we felt like it.” Yuka said. “Ben has been a joy to have around so it only seems normal to get you all something as well.” She said with a smile. And with that everyone had sat down and traded some stories of their lives, Ben and his family leaving out on how they faced off against evil and Kevin leaving out his criminal life.

* * *

_20 minutes later…._

Ben was in his own room on his futon relaxing. Today was a crazy day, first of all, they all went to Tokyo to enjoy, now he’s reunited with his cousin, best friend, and grandfather. It was a good feeling. But something was still in his mind...Mayu.

Ben felt bad because, at some point, he was going to have to go back home...but at the same time he didn't want to because that would mean leaving his new friends behind as well...and would mean leaving Mayu and Nana….what was he going to do?

Before he could think this over he heard a knock at his door, making him confused. “Come in.” He said. The door slid open to reveal Mayu, in her sleepwear. “Oh, Mayu,” Ben said. “Are you alright?”

Mayu nodded slightly as she came in and sat down next to him. “Ben...I want to apologize for today.” she said solemnly, as Ben was about to say something, she stopped him though. “I know what I said was pretty selfish of me to say...but it was true….you, and everyone else here is my new family...and you….you’re one of the many things that brighten my world….and I just….” She then rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t want you to leave me...big brother..” She said as a tear came down her eye.

Ben looked down at her and gave her a small frown. “I know Mayu.” Ben said. “I don’t want to leave you either, but I do need to go back to my world at some point.” He said with solemness in his voice. “I don't want to leave either, but Bellwood and my world need me, I’m a superhero after all.”

Mayu listened and seems to understand, she didn't want to be selfish and keep him here forever. But she didn't want to leave behind someone who has been one of the many joys in her life though…

“But I won't be back home for a few months.” He said, making Mayu lift her head from his shoulder and look at him. “There’s something...going on that requires me to stay here for a few months…..so during that time I will be here.” He didn't want to tell her about his fight with the Voice last night or the circumstances that had transpired, so he left it out.

Mayu then grabbed his hands. “Really? You will?” She asked hopefully.

“Yea,” Ben said with a smile. Mayu then teared up again and hugged him again.

“I love you Big Brother.” She said as she hugged him. Ben smiled and hugged her back.

“I love you too...Little Sister.” He said with a gentle smile. Mayu let go of him and began to go back to her room.

“Ben?” Mayu said as she gave him a smile. “Thank you.” She said as she then left.

Ben smiled and laid back down. Then a thought came to his mind. “ _Is it possible...that I could begin her back to Bellwood with us?_ ” He thought with a raised eyebrow. The thought of her going back with him was actually a thing that's been planted in his mind for a while now. Of course, he didn't want to bring her back without consent from Kouta and Yuka, but he felt like maybe a new life in Bellwood would be a bit better...away from the drama ....away from the bad memories.

“ _We’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it._ ” Ben thought as he was about to rest for the night. “ _Cross the bridge…_ ” He thought as another thought came to his mind...sooner or later, he was going to have to reveal himself to the others...the only ones who knew about him so far were Nana and Mayu….how would the others react?

“Ben!” the boy turned so see Nyu in her sleep attire coming in. “Nyu sleep with Ben?” She asked with hopeful eyes. Ben sighed a bit, knowing that those big pink eyes of hers were drawing him in.

“Alright, Nyu.” Ben said, prompting Nyu to be all giddy and happy and just like that, she then got under the covers and snuggled up to Ben, her head going on his shoulder and her arm wrapping around his and holding onto his hand. Ben then gave her a kiss on the cheek and said. “Goodnight Nyu.”

Nyu giggled. “Goodnight Ben.” She softly said and with that, the two of them fell asleep, smiles on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are done with that one folks. Sorry if it took me so long, I was trying to figure out how to plan the whole chapter out, sorry if it was a bit short and not so much of Tokyo for you all. I’ll do better next time.  
> So Gwen, Kevin, and Max are here! Awesome right? PArt of my original plan was to have them all appear at some point later once shit begins to hit the fan, but I decided to introduce them earlier so that way they can get to know the residents of Maple Inn and to know about the Institution. Ben isn't going to storm the Institution himself after all.  
> I hope you all enjoyed the little Mayu and Ben moments in this chapter as well. After looking back on some earlier chapters, I saw that it focused a bit much on Ben And Nana, and so I decided to have Ben And Mayu have their own moments in this chapter.
> 
> I hope I got Ben and company's heights right...and if I didn't sorry.
> 
> The next chapter will be after the Time-Skip, where it will show the events after 6 months have passed. Expect some Ben X Nyu moments in the next chapter.
> 
> Anyways, please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and ready to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	27. Post Time-Skip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLOOOOO EVERYBODY! I have returned with another chapter of Ultimate Lied. So last time, Ben reunited with Gwen, Kevin, and his grandfather. And they all had a good time in Tokyo, and we got a moment with Ben and Mayu as well. What will happen now? Let's see.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

_Diclonius Institute/Grotto_

Chief Kakuzawa was standing in the grotto looking into the distance. He had lots on his own mind and he was thinking about something in his mind.

"We, the Kakuzawa family," He said softly. "We were oppressed and chased underground..for our dream was to rule the earth and the skies in place of the pathetic Homo Sapiens, this is what we have been dreaming of for a long time." He said as he still continued to look out into the distance, but as he continued to talk, he began to look somewhat crazed. "For it's us who will become the gods of this new world and ascend power, and for the Diclonii to prosper, with me as their leader...Just like the Gods are to Homo Sapiens, it is for us to be worshipped for ages yet to come." He then sighed a bit as he continued to stare at the large body of water. "I hope you can understand….Anna." He said to the water, which then formed two eyes.

The large body of water continued to stare at him, and it spoke…"Yes, my father." It spoke. Kakuzawa smiled a bit at his daughter's convection. Then a cell phone went off and he answered it.

"Hello?" He answered, and after a few minutes of silence, he spoke. "WHAT?!" He yelled in fury.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

"PAPA!" Nana yelled out as she shot up from her bed in a bead of cold sweat. Mayu, who was carrying some sheets nearby, looked insand had a look of concern on her face.

"Nana, are you ok?" She asked her. But Nana didn't answer, Nana was still panting a bit as she looked down to her covers.

" _A bad dream….it is only a bad dream._ " She thought with dread as she still panted a bit before wiping the sweat from her. For some reason, she has been having these dreams a lot of times. She knew that her Papa is alright, but a part of her was so worried about what happened at Enoshima months ago.

"Nana," Mayu said with worry. "You seem to be having a lot of nightmares recently." She said as she put some towels away. Of course, she was really worried. It seemed like Nana had nightmares for some time now.

"You think so?" Nana asked hesitantly, in which Mayu nodded her head. "Oh…

"Well breakfast is almost ready, so hurry and come down." Mayu said as she left the room. As she was leaving she ran into Gwen. "Oh, hi Gwen."

"Morning Mayu," Gwen said with a smile. "Is Nana alright?" She asked with concern.

"Yea….but it seems like she has been having a nightmare again." Mayu said with some concern in her voice.

"Again?" She asked, this has been going on for a few months now. The girl sighed a bit. "I'll talk to her later...See if I can see what's going on with her."

Mayu smiled at the older girl. "Ok..thanks Gwen. Is big brother up yet?" She asked.

Gwen nodded her head. "He and the others are downstairs in the dining room. I was just about to go get the lunk-head up." She was referring to Kevin. Mayu giggled.

"I'll meet you downstairs." Mayu said with a smile as she then went downstairs and Gwen looked at others and smiled.

"No wonder Ben adores her so much...she is just so adorable." Gwen said with a smile, she then took a peek inside Nana's room to find her sweating a bit. Making the older girl look with concern. "I should talk to her at some point.."

_Meanwhile…._

Ben and Nyu were both in the kitchen helping cook breakfast. During the six months, Ben has been here. Nyu has matured a lot. Now she can speak in full sentences, and no longer feels like groping people, despite the fact that it still pops up from time to time.

Nyu looked over at Ben and had a playful smile on her face, she put the fish down and walked behind him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Ben knew how it was and sighed a bit before smiling a bit, he put the plates down and turned to face Nyu.

"Hey, my darling." Nyu said with a sweet smile as she then kissed him full on the lips, Ben kissed her back as he had his hands on her hips and her hands were wrapped around his neck in an embrace.

* * *

_1 Month Ago…._

Ben was looking into Nyu's room and had a nervous expression on his face. It has been months, and Nyu has begun to mature greatly, she can now communicate in full sentences. And since Been promised that he would give her a chance once she matured, he felt like it was now the right time to do so.

Ben walked into her room with nervousness. "Nyu?" He asked hesitantly. Nyu stopped doing what she was doing and looked at him with a smile.

"Hi, Ben," She said. "How are you doing?" She asked him

"Good." He said a bit nervously…"Uh...can I ask you a question?" He asked her. Prompting the girl to nod her head with a smile. "So...I don't know if you remember….but a few months ago..I wanted to wait for something...I don't know if you remember but I " But he was cut off by Nyu running over and grabbing his hands tightly.

"Ben….I don't really remember what you said to me….but I have felt something….something in my chest that is beating for you...for a while now...I asked Yuka and she said it has something to do with people liking each other, and I saw some films and saw...well…" She said as she blushed a bit

"Nyu," Ben said in a calm tone of voice. "To be honest, I like you too. I liked you for a while now….and I was wondering...would you...well, do you want to….be my girlfriend?" He asked with a blushed face.

Nyu then slammed her lips right into his, her arms wrapped around his neck, and Ben, with a surprised look wrapped his arms around her waist. Their lips departed and Nyu looked at him.

"Yes...yes I do." She said with a big smile, and with that, the two then embraced each other once again. As they kissed, Ben still looked into her.

" _Nyu...Lucy...Kaede...I promise that I'll save you from the voice...as soon as Paradox comes back with that device...I'll be ready._ " He thought, but he thought about something else….if he liked Nyu..does that mean he also likes Lucy..Kaede..whoever? It was something that confused him, but he would worry about that later.

Mayu and Nana were watching nearby. Mayu was giggling as Nana looked a bit confused.

"I don't get it, what are they doing?" Nana whispered to her with a confused look. Mayu looked and giggled.

"I'll tell you later, let's leave them alone" She said as she dragged the younger girl away much to her protests.

* * *

_Present_

Ben and Nyu were still kissing each other until their lips departed, courtesy of Ben, making Nyu surprised.

"Ben, why do you do that?" She asked him. Was he mad at her, did she do something wrong? Did she not tighten her grip enough?

"We still need to get breakfast out to everyone, Nyu." Ben said to her with a smile as he turned to point at the food.

"No, I want to keep on kissing." She whined to him, not wanting to let him go.

Ben however chuckled. "Later, ok?" He asked her as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Nyu loved it but sighed.

"Alright then…" She said to him, making Ben smile at her.

"Get a room you two." Kevin said to them as he peeked through the door. Great..the moment was now ruined.

"BEAT IT KEVIN!" Ben showed comically. Kevin snickered and left. Nyu simply giggled a bit at the act of the two boys.

_A Few Minutes Later…._

Everyone was now all sitting at a large table together. Nana and Mayu were sitting together, Ben and Nyu, Kouta and Yuka, Gwen and Kevin, and Max and Nozomi. And breakfast was all in front of them. Nana was looking over at Nyu, who was all giddy and close with Ben.

" _It's so amazing how she has matured a lot in the months we've been together. So different than we met._ " She thought with a small smile. She then looked out the window and looked awed. "I wonder if it is cold due to all the white stuff outside." She said to them all.

Kouta sighed a bit. "It's called 'Snow', Nana." He said to her as he took a sip of his tea. In the months that has passed, Kouta tends to still be a bit picky about certain things….he still can't remember his childhood, nor can he recall where he saw Nyu before. But he is still very protective of everyone. He formed a good friendship with Kevin and Gwen, and he learned all about Max's cooking...everyone did the first time he cooked.

* * *

_5 Months Ago…._

Kouta and the others were sitting down at the table, Max was inside the kitchen cooking...and that was not good for Ben and his friends.

Yuka was glaring at them all. "I don't know why you are all being so rude, I bet your grandfather will do something delicious.

Kevin snorted. "Don't believe it till you see it sweetheart." He said.

**BONK**

Ow!" Kevin said, rubbing his arm where Yuka punched him.

"And don't call me sweetheart.." She said, giving him a death glare and making some of the others snicket a bit at his dismay.

"You got served Kevin," Ben said with a smirk and the boy gave him a glare.

"Shut it, Tennyson!" Kevin snapped at him. With Gwen smirking and thinking.

" _Serves him right._ " At this point, Max had come out of the kitchen and gave a smile to them all.

"Dinner is served." He said to them all as he laid down the bowl that consisted of….something that didn't really look appetizing. It looked like it had insects and other...stuff in there. "Dig in." He said with a smile.

Everyone….just looked at it, now the residents of Maple Inn understood why Ben's grandfather's cooking was considered not good. Mayu, Nyu, Kouta, and Nozomi looked green. Nyu stuck her tongue out in disgust, and Yuka simply sweated nervously.

" _Told you so…_ " Ben thought with sympathy as everyone got out spoonfuls and put them on their plates.

Yuka, who was sweating a bit, was trying to stay kind to the older man though. "Well, thank you so much for the food sir." She said with a smile.

Kouta however looked at it closely. "Is this even considered food?" He asked, making Yuka glare at him.

**SLAM**

Yuka stomped on Kouta's food with the ball of her heel and made Kouta wince in pain. "Stop complaining and eat the phone!" She snapped as she grabbed Kouta's plate, and shoved the whole food in his mouth.

Mayu grabbed her chopsticks and pulled an insect from it, her stomach was churning a bit at the sight of it. " _I really don't want to eat it,_ " She thought. " _But I don't want to hurt Ben's grandfather's feelings…_ " She thought with dread as she and everyone else took a bite...and they wished that they didn't. Because after they did...everyone's face had turned green…

* * *

_Present_

And Max no longer cooked. He offered a few times, but everyone insisted that they all decide to cook. Which allowed me to take some time off. And besides cooking, he also helps with some cleaning as well. Max also got along well with everyone else. He became almost like a grandfather figure for both Nana and Mayu.

Gwen also began fitting in Maple Inn as well. She formed a close friendship with Yuka and Nozomi, and became an older sister figure for Nana and Mayu. She became close with Nyu, as she helped the girl learn new words and act more like a mature girl...despite some issues with her trying to grope her….

Kevin also became accustomed to the residents of Maple Inn. He formed a good friendship with Kouta and Yuka, and like Ben, he became an older brother figure for Mayu and Nana, despite his gruff nature he cares for the two girls very much.

But there was one thing that all of them agreed on...it was Nyu. For you see, Ben told his friends all about her.

* * *

_Five Months Ago..._

"And this voice is manipulating her to do these killings." Ben told his friends and grandfather He had been explaining to them all but what he had seen, with Nyu, and the shit he saw in her nightmare a bit as well. All of them were pretty shocked at this story. Gwen and Kevin felt sympathy for her and were angered at this facility for doing those horrible things..

Kevin had the same, for he too was a criminal as a kid...and while he didn't kill, he almost did cause that train crash when he and Ben first met that time when they were kids. The thought haunted him forever...and he was a criminal before he eventually found and befriended Ben and dated Gwen...so he can feel how Nyu must've felt.

"Paradox, tell us about this girl a bit as well." Max said to his grandson. "And he also said that you wanted the plumbers to build a device that allows one to go inside people's minds?" He asked.

Ben nodded his head. "Yes, I need to get that voice out of her….I normally don't kill people, but I wouldn't call that voice in her head... people…" He said with disgust. "I need to free her from its influence...if I don't then she will kill many more people, and I can't let it happen."

Ben's family was surprised at what he wanted to do...but if he was going to do this, then they would be with him every step of the way.

"This girl lived such a horrible life…" Gwen said with sympathy. How could the world be so cruel? Kevin was ashamed, if he was younger and saw the bullies do that to her dog, he would've kicked their little asses. Max...well he most likely would take her with him if he had known.

"That Kurama guy mentioned something about a facility." Ben said to them all.

"Yea, we know." Max said. "Kurama was talking to us at Plumber HQ all about the place, we are currently getting ready for a raid in order to rescue all the trapped Diclonius in there." He said with determination. And Ben was concerned, he wanted to save them...but he was nervous that the Plumbers might get killed. Max could see his grandson looked concerned about that, but he then reassured his grandson. "Don't worry about us, we are getting all prepped up now. We have some people trying to make some suits that allow vectors to be useless against."

Ben smiled at his grandfather's determination. "Thanks, Gramps...Sorry if this is all too much."

Max waved him off though. "Don't worry about it." He said with a smile. "But it won't be ready for a few more months though….so until then, we're all going to have to keep an eye on Nyu, make sure Kaede doesn't come back.." He said, making them all nod their heads at him. "At least not yet, I mean she seems to regret doing those things...but we can't be too sure.

"Right, she sounds like she has more blood on her hands than Viglax does." Kevin's aid to him.

Bens sighed. "That's why if she does come back, Gwen will encase her in one of her plasma shields till we get her to calm down and hear us out, besides, I can turn into Goop or Swampfire so she can't kill me easily."

"Sounds like a plan." Gwen said to her cousin. "So we agree that until everyone one of the plumbers gets ready, we have to keep an eye on Nyu then.

OH hey….uh…" Ben said to them. "How are Kurama and Mariko doing? Along with Shirakawa?" He asked them with concern in his voice.

"They are doing fine, we are trying to get them American citizenships so that way they can stay in the country, but for the time being, they are staying at Plumber HQ, and both Kurama and Mariko are receiving therapy for the shit they went through, and Shirakawa is telling the other plumber what she knows about the facility."

Ben Sighed a bit he was glad to know that Kurama and Mariko were both alright, along with Shirakawa. but he was still worried aobut the DNA Voice and Lucy thought..he was hoping that PAradox would bring that machine soon.

* * *

_Present_

And so far, Lucy didn't come back at all these past months, not even any signs of the DNA Voice. But Ben And his friends were not keeping their guards down for a minute, when he and Nyu sleep at night, he often stays up a little bit just to make sure. He then felt Nyu holding onto his hand under the table and she gave him a smile, making him smile back a bit.

Nozomi was eating some breakfast as she was reading her music books. Another big change was that Nozomi had grown so accustomed to everyone in Maple Inn, that she had decided to wear short clothing that showed her diaper to everyone. Ben remembered when his friends saw her diaper, Keving said something about it...and it ended with him getting slapped upside the head. But still. Ben smiled at her, knowing that she finally stood up to her father. And he was the one who had helped her out.

* * *

_Two Weeks ago_

Ben and Nozomi were outside of the father's house, the girl was really nervous, but Ben put his hand on her shoulder.

"Just go in there and tell him you want to pursue a career in singing." He told her. But Nozomi was trembling a bit.

"I-I'm so nervous…" She said shyly and hesitantly. Ben then looked at her house, and then back at her..and then had a look of determination.

"I'll go in with you then." He said to her, making her shocked.

"Yo-you will?" She asked with surprise. "But I don't want him to hurt you."

Ben shook his head. "Well you're my friend, right? Besides...if he tries to hit you again...I'll be there for you." He said with determination. " _I might expose myself, but if he tries to hurt her..then I don't care at all._ " He thought he would be there to protect his friends, even if he was to get himself exposed.

Nozomi looked at him again and he offered her a genuine smile. She then nodded at him and the two began to approach her father's house, She was nervous, really nervous. What was he going to do? What would he say? It was all intended and Nzomi felt like she was going to wet herself at any moment.

As she approached the door, she sighed as she grabbed onto the doorknob. "Ok….here I go.." She said hesitantly as she then opened the doorknob and the two then entered the house, as they did Nozomi turned to Ben. "Take off your shoes." She told him as he did just that.

As they both entered the home they heard something.

"NOZOMI!" A loud voice yelled, making the two teens reel back in fight a bit, then a figure began to approach them. He looked to be a regular male who had a flat hair-style and had a button shirt, pants, and slippers. He didn't look happy to see her. "Who is this?" He asked.

Ben glued a bit. "I'm Ben Tennyson, sir." Bens aid as he then bowed respectfully. Nozomi's father raised an eyebrow and turned back to his daughter.

"He's a friend of mine I made a few months ago." She said to her father. "He's a transfer student who is staying at Yuka's." She said to him nervously. The father looked suspicious but decided not to press things any further.

"Well, anyway...you want to explain this to me?" He asked as he then showed her a slip, when she saw it, she became more nervous and Ben was confused. "What is this exam admission slip?" He asked in an angry tone of voice. "Were you planning...on admitting to a music school...WITHOUT TELLING ME?!" He yelled loudly in an angry tone of voice. Ben could see Nozomi tremble a bit and he glared at her father. What the hell is the hush issue so much.

Ben then placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. But the girl was still terrified a bit. His father looked very angry. "I will never forgive you for this shameful behavior.." He said with venom. "Tomorrow, you are not to leave this house." He said in anger, he then turned to face Ben. "And you...get your filthy American hands off of her!" He snapped.

Ben sighed a bit as he tried to remain calm. "No." He said in anger, much to Nozomi's worry. "She's my friend, and I won't let her be here alone, not if you hit her again." He said in anger.

Nozomi's father was shielding and gave his daughter an angry glare."What have you been telling him?" He asked.

"She's told me plenty, you bastard!" Ben snapped at him. "I don't know what the hell your issue is. But why the hell did you hit her? For singing? That's bullshit if you ask me. If you don't want her to do something, you should have told her why you didn't, instead of just hitting her!"

Nozomi was looking at Ben and smiled a bit, she then looked down and heard everyone cheers and approval for pursuing her dream. She trembled again, not out of fright, but one of mere confidence.

"Ben's right." She said, making the two males look at her. "I'm not going to give up on my dream, I'm taking the exam tomorrow..please, give me back my admission slip." She said to him. "I made up my mind now." She said with a determined look. "I'm going to live my own life!"

Ben looked then and was pretty impressed, he was nervous that this was not going to go well. And that was why he was here with her, just in case something did go wrong. But now he was smiling a bit because Nozomi was now getting some confidence in herself and wanted to live her own life. When he looked at her father, he saw that the father's face was no longer one of anger….but one that was a mix of understanding and sadness though.

"You," Nozomi's father said to her. "Really want to oppose me, no matter what?" He asked. This made Nozomi shrink back a bit...was he going to hit her again? Ben then put a protective arm in front of her, just in case a fight was about to break out.

But rather than get angry Nozomi's father sighed and looked up, making Ben a bit confused. "Nozomi….the truth is, I wasn't trying to stop you from singing out of hatred. The truth is, I was actually hoping that you would become a good opera singer….but you see, what I didn't want….was for you to end up sharing your mother's fate…" He said.

Both Ben and Nozomi were a bit confused but curious as to what he meant.

"What do you mean Papa?" Nozomi asked him. Making the man sigh again and look at her.

"You see Nozomi, you have a defect in your vocal cords...your mother's voice was known as Soprano Dramatico." He said to her, this made Ben go wide-eyed.

"That kind? Wow…" He said with awe, Nozomi looked at him and he answered for her. "Soprano Dramatico is known for having voices that are powerful enough to sing over an entire orchestra." He said to her. "Gwen told me about it at one point."

"Your friend is right, Nozomi." Her father said to her. "Usually Japanese people don't have that type of voice, but your mother did. But there is a price for this kind of voice, that type of singing voice makes your throat very weak. So she continued to force herself to sing, and sing, and sing...until she destroyed her throat…..and then her voice afterward….after that,s he fell into depression, and he ended up committing suicide." He said.

This made both Nozomi and Ben shocked, so that was what happened...her voice...it made her kill herself. Ben, despite being angry with the father, he understood a bit as to why he was so harsh on her...but it still didn't excuse him for his abuse though…

"Nozomi, you also possess that type of voice," He said. "You must've got it from her." He said, making both Ben and Nozomi shocked. "I looked into it, and found out that if you used it, then you wouldn't be able to use your voice for very long…"

"And so you hit her instead?" Ben asked in anger. "Rather than just tell her the truth, you instead hit her?"

The father sighed. "I'm not proud of what I did to her...I never wanted to...but I was filled with so much grief and sorrow...that it couldn't control it." He said. "Nozomi, your mother was so stout, but singing was everything to her. But she just couldn't come to terms with that defect...and it ended up making her kill herself. I wanted you to pick another path because I was just so worried that you would end up the same thing….but I guess I can't stop you, not after you stood up to me.." He said as he went over to a drawer.

Ben looked over at Nozomi and grabbed her hand. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Y-yea..I am." She said to him, she just didn't know how to respond to all of this, her other died...she has a defect in her voice….it was all..so much to handle.

Her father came back to them and handed them something, Ben took it to find that it was a tape racer that was covered in tape. "It was something Nozomi did for me when she was younger." He said to him. "I was filled with so much grief that I never bothered to listen to it.." He said as he turned to his daughter. "Listen, I will let you pursue your dream on one condition. He said to her, this made her a bit nervous though, but then his look became one of a small smile. "At your first concert, I want the best seat in the house…" He said to her.

Nozomi looked up at him and nodded her head as she gave a small smile. "Ok, Papa, I will."

The father nodded and turned to face Ben. "You're a good kid. Make sure my daughter is protected." He said to him.

Ben smiled a bit. "You got it sir." He said as his face was a bit stern. "It might take me awhile forgive you for making her cry….but hopefully, I hope to one day." He said. " _I know I shouldn't say this...but at least he didn't touch her like Mayu's stepfather…_ " He thought with dread. And it was true, sure Nozomi's father spanked her, but he never molested her as Mayus father did….

"And Nozomi," Her father said to her. "I know you might never forgive me for what I did to you...and I probably don't deserve it either...but I want to let you know something." He said as he got close to her and put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "I love you...just please...please be careful, alright?" He asked her.

Nozomi looked up at him and have a small tear go down her eye as she gave a short smile. "Ok Papa, I promise I will." Ben sighed a bit as he watched with a smile.

_5 minutes later…_

Ben and Nozomi were now at the nearby bus station, ready to go back to Maple Inn, and in Nozomi's hands, there was a suitcase, she had decided to move into Maple Inn with everyone else. Ben looked at her and got her attention.

"Are you alright, Nozomi?" He asked her with concern. "That was pretty intense here, huh?"

"Yea..it was." She said with some hesitation, then they were silent for a minute before Nozomi looked at him. "Ben...I just….want to say thank you, for coming with me…" She said to him. "But I could-"

"I know," Ben said to her. "But I was just going to come just in case you needed some protection...not saying that you're weak, but in case your father tried to hit you...I wouldn't have been there to stop him." He said.

Nozomi looked at him and smiled. "Thank you Ben." She said as she then let go of her suitcase and wrapped her arms around him. "You really are a true friend…" she said as a tear went down her right eye. Ben smiled and hugged her right back.

* * *

_Present_

"I hope you'll like it." Nyu said with a smile. They were cheap yesterday." She said with a smile on her face as they were eating their meal and had smiles of happiness on their faces.

"Still, if you kids need some cooking, I will be here if you need something." Max said. But everyone laughed nervously as beads of sweat went down their heads in nervousness.

Nyu looked outside and smiled. "The snowfall doesn't stop does it?" She asked

"It sure doesn't." Ben said to her, making her look at him and giggle.

"You know...when spring comes…" Yuka said. "It will be a year since Nyu and Ben came into our lives." She said with a smile.

"Yea," Kouta said with a smile. "Nyu changed the most out of everyone here….Ben, not so much." He said.

"NOT FUNNY DUDE!" Ben yelled comically. Gwen snickered.

"Well he has actually." She said to them all. "Back when we were kids, he was arrogant, cocky, rude, self-absorbed, and selfish." She said she remembered all the times that Ben, despite being heroic, was usually rude and cocky. "But as we grew...he became way more like an adult."

"Wow...thanks Gwen." Ben said with a smile.

Gwen then smirked. "But sometimes he can still be such a dweeb." She said, making Ben glare and the other Maple Inn residents to laugh a bit. Nyu grabbed his hand underneath and rubbed his hand with her thumb in a caring way.

"But still," Yuka said. "Kouta's right, Nyu is nothing like when we first met." She said to them.

"R-really?" Nyu asked with a blushed face. "I don't remember the first time I came to this house…

"Oh," Kouta said. "Then I guess you forgot about...that." He said with a smirk.

"Oh, yea…" Yuka said with a smirk of her own.

"Huh?" Nyu said with a blush. "Ben, what did I do?" She asked him hesitantly, making the Omnitrix wielder blush out of embarrassment.

"Well...uh…" He said nervously.

"You came and wet yourself in the corner." Kouta said, taking a sip of his tea. Making everyone present shocked.

"NYU!" Nyu said, as soon as she said that, she suddenly covered her mouth with her hands and looked around embarrassingly. " _Oh jeez, why did I do that?_ " She thought as she then stared at Bena again. " _Ben possibly sees me as an idiot.._ " she thought with sadness. "I-I don't remember that!" she said in a flushed state.

"Well, you did." Kouta said to her. I was the one who cleaned it up, with no help from Yuka or Ben." He said to her.

"I was settling in!" Ben said in defense. "Don't get mad at me for not helping you clean up some pee!"

"Can we stop now?" Nyu said. "I did no such thing!" She said embarrassingly and flushly.

"I got my boobs grabbed onto…" Yuka said in a deadpanned voice. Making Nyu shout even louder than before.

"I-I'm sorry!" Nyu said. "Whatever I did to you all, I'm sorry!" She said as she grabbed her head and shook her head.

"Alright, that's enough!" Bens aid to them all. "You're making the poor girl upset now." He said to them.

"Right..sorry Ben." Kouta said sheepishly. "We did overdo it...don't worry about a thing Nyu." He said to the girl. "It's all history."

"You actually oe-" Kevin was about to ask until Yuka interrupted him,

"So, Nozomi!" She said suddenly. You're third in the country for mock exams right?" This made everyone shocked.

"Woah, really?" Kein asked. "That's pretty cool." He said as he hated some of his fish.

"I agree, being the third smartest." Max said with a smile on his face.

"Oh..well.." Nozomi said with a blushed face. "Despite being the third smartest..it's the real thing...I'm just so nervous that I might get nervous and wet myself..sometimes I end up thinking about what if i do?" she said as she was trembling a bit. "I mean..what if.." she then began to cry a bit, she was just so nervous about what is to come and all that. The others looked at her with some concern.

***Tweet, tweet***

This caught some of their attention. And looked around.

"What was that?" Kevin asked with a raised eyebrow. Everyone had heard it as well..but where was it coming from? Nyu got up and looked around.

"Outside, she said to them all. It's coming from outside. She said as she went to the sliding door and opened it, the cold didn't matter to her, what mattered was to find whatever the noise was that was making it. "Awe," She said, some of the others came out to see what she was aweing at, and in her hands was a baby bird.

"Huh," Kouta said. "A baby bird at this time of the year?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "I wonder where its nest is at." Some of them wondered the same thing...where was the nest at?

Nyu looked down sadly. "Poor little thing. "She said with sadness. "You must be freezing right?" She asked as she then looked at Kouta. "Kouta...I'd like to raise the bird." She said, making everyone there shocked a bit. "Please let me do it, if I don't do something, then the body will die.."

Everyone looked at eachother and thought about it. It didn't seem so bad, they already had a dog, so why not a bird?

Kouta however.."It's easier said than done." He said to her. "Raising a bird is pretty difficult, during the night, you'll have to get up and feed it every hour." He said. Ben didn't like to say no to his girlfriend, but Kouta did have a point on the matter. "Plus, if you do get attached to it...then it will be even harder once it eventually dies." He said.

"Woah, dude!" Ben said with a shocked tone of voice. "You don't have to be that cold about it!"

Kouta stared back. "I'm not being cold, I'm telling her the honest truth!"

"Boys, please." Yuka said to them both. Nyu however was beginning to tear up, not just for the bird, but also for the two of them fighting.

"Kouta...Ben…" Nyu pleaded as tears went down her eyes. "Please…" she begged them. Kouta looked at her, and back at Ben. With Ben giving him a look that said ' _What could happen?_ '

"Well...ok then." He said. This made Nyu smile and jump for joy as the others smiled in happiness. Nana then looked down a bit.

" _I only wonder though...how much will happiness end?_ " She thought to herself. " _If that man does get his hands on Lucy...then he will end all humanity and become a new god._ " she thought, but then she looked over at Ben. " _But...I shouldn't worry about that...Ben will protect us...I believe in him, I believe that he will protect us all._ " she thought with a smile on her face.

"Kouta, Yuka called out to him. "We gotta get ready for school." She said to him. Kouta then realized that she was right.

"Your right." He said as he turned to face Nana and Ben. "Nana, Ben, can you both guard the house for today?" He asked them.

"No problem, Kouta," Ben said to him, as Kevin, Gwen, and Max agreed to stay behind as well. They not only did this to make sure everything goes smoothly, but also did this to make sure that no one tries to do anything. Ben looked over to see that Nana was looking down a bit.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute_

Kakuzawa was growling in anger….he just got off the phone with someone to tell him that the missile strike did not go off as he planned and he wanted to know why, all they could say is that it was frozen and Ultraman showed up to stop it.

"FUCKING ULTRAMAN!" He yelled in anger. "HE DOESN'T EVEN EXIST, HE'S A FREAKIN TV CHARACTER!" He yelled in anger. He then looked down and breathed hard, not really in the mood. But something else got to his attention.

The person on the phone mentioned that the Ultraman sighed had turned into a normal boy, who was wearing a green jacket and had a weird looking watch on his wrist. This got Kakuzawas suspicions rising.

"So...I heard the rocket didn't go off." A voice said behind him as Kakuzawa turned to face looked to be an older man who looked to be in his 30's and he was covered in all black and wore glasses with long hair. "And from what I heard you yelling...something about a boy and Ultraman?

KAkuzawa nodded. "Yea...I don't know what is going on...but I want Lucy captured...and whoever this boy is..he fucked everything up.." He then gave the man a dark glare. "I want you to find them both...but don't kill them….bring them to me alive."

The man then chuckled a bit before raising an eyebrow. "Why the boy? I understand Lucy, but why the boy?"

Kakuzawa looked on ahead. "While I do not know what went on in Enoshima...but if what they said is true...then this boy could prove quite useful to us all." He said with a dark tone in his voice. "You hear me? Toshiro?"

Toshiro then gave a wicked smile. "No problem….father." He said with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that is that everybody. So for the Unknown Man, I didn't just want him to call him the Unknown Man for the whole story, so I gave him the name Toshiro, and I named him that because I couldn't find any names that had meaning for dark or light. If anyone knows, then I'll gladly change the name. I say light because since Kakuzawa thinks he will be the god of the new world, then of course he would want to name his son to be named of light or something similar to that.
> 
> As for making him his son, I have heard some fan theories that state that the Unknown Man is a part of the Kakuzawa family, and so I decided to make him his son. Just saying my own opinion.
> 
> Huh, the first chapter without an eyecatch...kinda weird, I'm not sorry :)
> 
> I got plans for Ben beating the shit out of the Unknown Man for what he attempts to do with Mayu and Nana, you'll get that part later on ;)
> 
> Anyway, please don't forget to read and review, I'm always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any question you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	28. Love of a Mutant and a Hero (Lemon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok..so this is going to be a bit different here....because this time, it is going to be a lemon...yeppers.  
> So this is my first time writing a lemon on here and well...yea, first time. So the lemon takes place sometime before chapter 27, like it will be a month later after Ben and Nyu begin dating, but before the events that would conspire in chapter 27...so yea..
> 
> Also the reason I am posting it on here is that I don't want the story to be taken down on Fanfiction.net, but still, I do hope you all enjoy it :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks

**_Maple Inn_ **

Ben was sitting down in the dining room reading a comic that Gwen had brought with her.

“ _ I don't mind the shops here, _ ” He thought. “ _ But I dont speak or know Japanese. _ ” Ben had tried to learn some Japanese with help from Mayu and Yuka...but it wasn't working out so well. Ben put the book down and sighed to himself.

“ _ I swear there has been no crime anywhere for the last few months. _ ” Ben thought. “ _ I wonder if it's because people saw me as Way Big back at Enoshima…. _ ” He then thought about it for a while….but then got a bit bored. “ _ I better go see what Nyu is doing. _ ” He thought as he got up.

It was only him and Nyu in the house today, Kouta, Yuka, Nozomi, and Mayu were all at school, Kevin and Gwen went to go explore with Wanta, and Max and Nana went for a walk together. Team Tennyson's time in the Maple Inn was going pretty well. Mayu and Nana began to view Max as a grandfather figure, and they began to see Kevin and Gwen as older siblings, same as Ben.

Ben then sighed a bit as he walked to her room. The events that transpired five months ago in Enoshima were still fresh in his mind. He still had to figure out how to save Nyu...Kaede...whatever the girl's real name is. “ _ I got to figure the whole thing out. _ ” He thought he got closer to Nyu’s room, and as he did, he began to hear something.

“Hmm?” He said as he got closer to Nyu’s room, he didn’t barge in right away, but he placed his head to the door to hear something. And what he heard was a bunch of panting and...moaning? Ben, feeling a bit nervous, slightly opened the door to see what Nyu was moaning about, and when he did….he immediately blushed.

Nyu was kneeling on the floor all naked, her entire body was glistening with sweat, her right hand was fondling her right boob, and her left hand was rubbing her clit, and she was panting as a girl in heat. “Ben~, oh Ben~!” She moaned. “Do it to me...do it very nice….” She moaned a bit as she continued to fondle herself a bit, images of Ben having sex with her was making her horny. “I want it...I want it so bad~!” She said as she continued to fondle herself some more images of lewd things in her mind.

Outside the door, Ben was blushing up a storm, he never saw anyone do that...but never really seen anyone jerking off to  _ HIM _ , not even Julie. But he had to admit...Nyu looked so...perfect...he then felt a tent emerge f0rom his pants..

“ _ Sorry Nyu...I can't take it. _ ” He thought as he reached down into his pants and began to jerk off to the scene, as he was watching and maturbating, images of Nyu and her sexy body going to mind. “ _ So fucking hot! _ ” He thought as he was rubbing himself. “ _ Nyu..I want you so bad.. _ ” He thought as images of him doing it with her filled his mind. “ _ Your pussy looks sso tasty..those breasts ....look so suckble. _ ” He thought.

Nyu was saying the same things though. “Oh Ben, lick my pussy, suck on my boobs...do lots of things with me, please, please make me feel good~” She said loudly as she still rubbed herself, and as she did it faster, she felt her climax reach, and Ben felt the same. “Ben, oh Be-NYYYUUU! She yelled as she then climaxed and her semen spilled into her hands and onto the floor a bit

“GGAAHHH!” Ben said as he climaxed at the same time, semen pouring out of it and landing on his hands, Ben panted a bit as sweat went down his head...but then...his eyes went wide. He realized that he yelled right at the door, he looked in to see Nyu looking at him as well, her face all red of embarrassment. “Uh…” Bne tried to say, but before he could talk, Nyu got up from her position and walked over to the door. Ben felt a bit nervous about it though, worried that she was going to get angry at him for spying on her….but rather than get angry, she felt flush.

“Still on..” she said to him flushly.

“Uh, wha-?” but Ben was cut off by having Nyu grab him and drag him into the room. Seh then gently brought him in and placed him on her futon. Ben looked up to see Nyu standing over him and had a nervous expression on his face. “ _ She’s going to kill me, isn't she? _ ” He thought with dread. But for some reason….she didn’t, and she began to rub her pussy again while also fondling her breast a bit, a sight that made Ben gain an erection again.

“Ben,” Nyu said as she then stopped and got on her knees and slammed her lips into Ben, this caught the boy by surprise, but at the same time...it felt good. Her tongue entered his mouth and it was a sword fight of tongues.

Ben was getting even more turned on by such a lewd act. He then wrapped his arms around her and he gripped her nice rear, his hands squeezing them, causing the honored girl to moan in his mouth.

Nyu then broke off lip contact, saliva spitting from the teens mouth as she stared at him, her pink eyes meeting his green. “Ben, take off your clothes...I want you so badly.” She said in a perverted voice.

Her sudden act made Ben surprised, where did she learn to talk like this? It couldn't be a side effect from when she was still in her child stage was it? But still the way she talked to him….he had to admit was making him crazy. He then got up a bit and began to undress himself, he first got his shirt off, and then his pants. This left him only in his underwear, and his tent was showing.

Nyu licked her lips as she then crawled on all fours and began tugging his underwear off, and once she did, his erection hit her in the face and she was amazed. It was around 5’6 inches, normal size for her. “Wow…” She said as she then was about to put her mouth on, but was stopped by Ben.

“Wait Nyu,” He said with worry. “Are you sure about this? We have only been dating for a mo-” But he was stopped by Nyu, who stood up and put her finger to his lips.

“Ben, I don't know why I feel like this...but I want it.” She said to him as she then began to gently brush his cock with her hand. “ _ Feels so amazing.. _ ” She thought. 

Ben then grabbed her and kissed her on the mouth, Nyu moaned as she wrapped her arms around his head as Ben grabbed her by the butt. “ _ Nyu...she’s such a good kisser...where did she learn to do this? _ ” Ben thought, but it didn't matter because this was amazing...amazing to feel.

Nyu then broke the kiss and got down on the futon, she laid on her back and she lifted her legs and put her fingers on her wet pussy. “Ben...please lick me.” She begged him as she rubbed her wet clit. Ben felt his cock twitch a bit as he then walked over and got down on his knees.

Ben was looking at her wet pink pussy and got hard again, but at the same time, he was nervous though, this was his first time eating a girl out. You see, he and Julie never were able to do it, due to him always going to save the world and Julie being busy with other stuff….he looked up at Nyu for reassurance and she nodded frantically, eager for Ben to just eat her out. Pushing his doubts aside, he shoved his face in her.

“NYUUU~” The girl squealed a bit as she felt his tongue enter her...it was a new experience for the girl indeed. Ben’s tongue was swirling around as he then gripped her hips and held on firmly to Ben. Ben was nervous, but still after getting some adjustments, he was beginning to do a decent job of pleasuring his girlfriend. Nyu was simply a moaning mess as she was rubbing her breasts.

Ben was having the time of his life too. But he was simply just surprised by one thing….HE WAS GIVING ORAL...TO A GIRL! This was a whole new experience for him...he felt a bit nervous being his first time….but he was confident though, confident that he would not let his new girlfriend down. He heard Nyu moan a bit and stopped a bit.

“Nyu are you o-mph!” He was interrupted as Nyu reached down and forced him back into licking her pussy. 

“Ben~!” Nyu moaned. “You’re so good…!” She moaned as she felt sweat building up. Ben looked up to her as he was eating her out, her moans music to his ears...then he got an idea. He began licking and sucking her at a much faster pace.

“KYAA!” She yelled in ecstasy, the feeling of him going much faster being so much for her..the feeling of it...the intensity...it was so much. “I’m go-gonna cum!” She said to him, she felt her climax about to reach its boiling points. Ben, knowing that she was at her limit, began going much, much faster. “Ben! More, more, more, mo-NNNNYUUUUUUUU!!” she yelled as she felt her orgasm happen, all her juices flowing out of her and inside Ben’s mouth. 

As the juices wnt inside his mouth, Ben tates it all….it wasn't bad, it was a sweet but tangy flavor, kinda like an orange. Ben licked it and swallowed it all. “ _ Wow..I actually drank...a girls cum… _ ” He thought with amazement. He then saw Nyu panting a bit and took a look at her breasts, they weren't huge, but it didn't matter to Ben. He slowly pecked kisses from her clit and started to go up, he pecked her tummy, and pecked all the way to the middle part of her chest.

And as soon as he saw those beautiful breasts with those puffy pink nipples...he knew what he had to do. He took his chance and began to suck on the right boob, with him fondling the left boob. This made Nyu make a joyful squeal as she felt her love pleasuring her.

“Ohhh, Ben you're so amazing.” Nyu said with ecstasy. Ben looked at her and let go of her nipple with an audible ‘Pop’

“Thanks Nyu, you're amazing too….now just relax and let me do all the work~” He said seductively as he then got to work on the other nipple, with him fondling the right one as well. Nyu made a groan as she had one hand rubbing her boyfriend's head while her other hand was busy fingering herself. Ben took a look down to see what she was doing and was surprised.

“ _ Did she learn all of this during the Six Months? _ ” He thought with confusion, but he quickly shoved those thoughts aside as he continued his work. He then gently bit down on the nipple, making Nyu cry in a moaning mess.

“Yes Ben, please suck my boobs!” She moaned. “Suck on them some more!” She said shamelessly as she continued to fondle herself, now how can Ben refuse her? He continued hi ssucking and fondling and Nyu was rubbing his head with affection.

After a few minutes, he let go of her nipple and looked into her eyes. She was panting a bit due to how amazing her first time was. “Am I doing alright?” Ben asked her, and what was her reaction?

“Mhmm.” Nyu said with a smile. She then looked down to see his dick twitching a bit. “Ben...I want that thing…” She said. Ben looked down and smirked.

“Oh, sure.” He said as he then stood up a bit and had his dick in front of Nyu, who licked her lips a bit.

“Can it even fit in my mouth?” Nyu asked in amazement as she looked at it, of course she was a bit confused as she never did these anymore….but she then took Ben’s length and into her mouth and got to work.

Ben could feel Nyu’s soft tongue slobbering all over his dick, her moaning as she was doing back and forth, back and forth as the sound of Nyu’s sucking. He was in a state of bliss right now. Nyu began sucking as if she was sucking on a lollipop.

Nyu…" Ben groaned a bit. "How did you-oh god.." He said as he felt her rub his testicle gently. "How did you get like this?" He asked. It was a serious question.

Nyu looked up at him and stopped sucking him as she let go with an audible pop. "I...uh..tried on a banana two days ago…" she said to him.

"You planned this?" He asked with shock. She was planning this, wasn't she?

Nyu gave a small mischievous smile at him and nodded her head. "Yes, I wanted this for a while now...and since we have been together for a month, I feel as if it's now a good time. Now please stop, and let me suck you~" She said as she got right back into sucking Ben.

Ben was just in shock. Who would've thought that Nyu had such a perverted side….where did she even learn it? Well...she did mature and began to act more like them...so he didn't complain.

As Nyu continued to suck him more, Ben felt something in his lower region. He felt his climax about to hit.

Nyu...im gonna cum…!" He said in a strained voice, and he moaned even more when Nyu began to suck at a much faster pace. The rapid speed she was going was making Ben go a bit crazy. "Going to...GAHHHH!" He yelled as he felt all of his cum enter inside of the horned girl’s mouth.

Nyu moaned in delight as she tasted her first cum. It was not bad, it was a bit sweet, but not too bad. She had some difficulty swallowing, but she managed to get it all down as Ben was breathing heavily.

As Ben was breathing, he saw Nyu in sheer bliss as she was swallowing all of his cum. Now lost into pleasure...he could no longer resist temptation.

"Nyu…" He said in a growling noise. As Nyu looked up, he then growled like an animal and pushed her into the futon, making her squeal in surprise, as she landed, he then crawled on top of her, him holding onto her wrists firmly but not tight. Both were blushing up storms a bit, their sweaty bodies touching each other.

Ben then slammed his lips onto Nyu, taking the horned girl by surprise but then wrapped her arms around him as they made out like crazy. Tongues wrestling for dominance, and Ben then rubbed and fondled Nyu's breasts, making the horned girl moan in his mouth. Her moan turned more loud as he stopped kissing her as he then sucked on her nipples one again.

If it felt amazing, his tongue, his lips...it felt all amazing and Nyu was feeling like she was going to climax once again. Then Ben stopped and looked at Nyu as she ruled his back with affection. 

"You want to do this?" He asked her gently. "If you don't, I understand...I never did this myself.." He said with embarrassment. He wasn't trying to be embarrassed, he was just so nervous due to the fact that this was his first time. Nyu seems to notice and kisses him gently.

“Yes…” She said to ihm. “I'm nervous as well...but I believe in you.” She said to him sweetly. Knowing that his girlfriend had full support of him, he grabbed his dick and gently rubbed Nyu's folds, he looked at her and she gave him a lustful smile and nodded her head. Nodding back, Ben then lined up his dick and began to shove his length right into her snarch.

The feeling of Bens dick entering her made Nyu moan in bliss, this was the first time she ever felt a dick in her….and it felt amazing!

This when Ben grabbed her hips and began to thrust himself inside of Nyu, he was really gentle with her but he did go at a normal pace. He was in nirvana, his dick was being squeezed by Nyua tight pussy. The feeling...the tightness...it was sheer bliss for him. He looked to see Nyu, who was a moaning mess.

"Oh Ben!" Nyu said with ecstasy. 'You feel so big!" She said to him, Ben smirked as he continued to thrust into her. Nyu was now fondling her own breasts and biting her bottom lip. "Ben, please kiss me~" She said.

Ben chuckled a bit as he leaned down and pressed his lips into hers, their tongues fighting for dominance as Nyu wrapped her legs across his waist to move him closer to her. They both moaned into eachothers mouths in nirvana.

" _ God, Nyu is amazing at this. _ " Ben thought as he still continued to make out with her. " _ I can't believe that this is my first time doing this...me and Julie never got around to do it...but still! _ " He thought in bliss.

Nyu was thinking the same thing. " _ Ben...you make me so hot! _ " She thought as sweat was going on her body. "My first time, and Ben is so great!" 

As they kissed, Ben was still thrusting inside of her, then he then began to thrust a little bit faster. Thats when Nyu stopped kissing Ben and yelled in pleasure. She leaned her back and moaned loudly, Ben was lucky that no one was home and it was just him and Nyu.

Ben smirked and then leaned down and began to kiss and suck on Nyus neck, making the horned girl grip on his back hard and wrap her legs around his waist.

"Oh, Ben...you're so amazing!" She moaned in bliss, the feeling of his thrusts, his kisses, and licks to her neck...it was a lot for her.

Ben then felt something coming...and he stopped sucking to lean to her ear. "Nyu, I'm about to cum. Do you want it in? Or out?" While Nyu was moaning she began to think about it.. She really wanted him to cum inside...but she didn't feel like being a mother...at least not yet.

"Please take it out." She said to him. "I'm not ready to be a mommy yet." She said to him.

Ben nodded and began to thrust even further into her snatch. As he began to thrust further, he began to feel like he was about to blow. "Nyu, I'm gonna cum!" He said as he quickly pulled out of her and began to rub his dick.

Nyu painted and opened up her mouth, ready to taste more of Ben's delicious cum. As he began rubbing further he let out a moan as he unleashed his cum out, some ended up in Nyu's mouth while some landed on her boobs and chest.

Ben panted a bit before he fell backwards, feeling tired and rained, he rubbed the sweat out of his head as he looked up.

" _ I can't believe it… _ " He thought. " _ I actually had intercourse...for the first time. _ " He thought, he felt amazed...and happy. He looked up to see Nyu licking all of Ben's cum off of her. Ben chuckled. "You really like it huh, Nyu?" He asked.

Nyu looked at him and nodded with glee. She then crawled over and got on top of him, her left hand grasping Ben's hand and her right hand playing with his hair, pink eyes met green as the two were blushing.

"Watashi wa, anata o aishiteimasu." She said sweetly to him.

"Wa-who??" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow, Nyu giggled.

"Nothing…" She said as she then leaned forward and kissed Ben once again. The love they had together was extraordinary.

Ben however opened to look at her head. " _ I wonder if Lucy felt me hav sex with Nyu...of course they do share the same body. So it's possible...but what about the DNA Voice? _ " The very thought made him cringe a bit…

30 minutes later…

Everyone was now sitting at the dining room having some tea together and began expressing their day, but Ben and Nyu glanced at each other and smiled as Nyu’s face flushed a bit. Their day was something that none of the others will figure out. It was their own special day together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, this is my first lemon so please don't be hard alright? But what did you think of it? Was it good, bad? Who knows?
> 
> So in case you want to know, this is canon to the story as I mentioned above sometime before chapter 28, but after a month passed into Nyu and Ben’s relationship.
> 
> So some of you might be surprised since Ben has now exposed himself to the Vector virus, but he was already infected since he was beaten up by Mariko and the DNA Voice. 
> 
> And the last thing, as mentioned above, the reason I posted it here was so Fanfiction.net doesn't take down my story. So don't expect the lemon to be on Fanfiction.net, only on here.
> 
> Anyway, see you all next time as we get to the next official chapter :).


	29. Little Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He ladies and gentleman, I hope you're all doing well and hope you all had a great Halloween, only a few more weeks till Thanksgiving, oh I can't wait :)
> 
> Anyways so last time, we got a glimpse of life in the Maple Inn House, Ben's family had been adjusting themselves and Ben and Nyu are in an official relationship. But trouble looms as Chief Kakuzawa has told his son Toshiro about the missile not going off, and now senda him to find Ben and Lucy, will he succeed? We will have to wait and see.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

_Maple Inn_

Ben was watching as Kouta was standing by the door wearing a jacket.

"C'mon Yuka!" Kouta said. "We gotta go!" He called out loudly.

"I know!" Yuka called back. "Just give me a few minutes!" She said. Kevin, who was walking around the corner, was snickering a bit.

"Sheesh, girls take so much time, you know what I mean?" He asked Kouta, who sighed.

"Yea...I know what you mean." He said back. Ben shook his head, thank god Yuka was not near them to hear it, otherwise they would get their asses handed to them.

Meanwhile, Yuka was changing upstairs and looked upset, why? Because Nyu was already changed. "It's not fair!" She whined as Nyu then turned to face her. "Nyu, you're an early riser and you have already changed."

Nyu gave her a cheeky smile. "Nope," She said with an audible pop. "It was my turn for duty this morning." She said.

Yuka sighed, not really believing her, but whatever right? As Nyu was looking at Yuka, she saw Yuka's breasts and...well...she felt something, she felt...like he wanted to touch them. Now during her maturity, she didn't grow as much as she did before, but it still turned up from time to time, but she never really did know why she did though.

She wanted to touch them...but she resisted with ease, but it was so hard to do. "I'm gonna go downstairs!" Nyu said as he quickly left the room, to avoid doing something she would regret, making Yuka look at her with confusion.

Nyu then ran downstairs to see Kouta ready at the door. He asked her if Yuka was ready yet. "Almost." She said with a flushed face. Kouta was confused, but shrugged his shoulders, Nyu took a look at Ben and licked her lips a bit. She woke him up to whisper something. "Ben….could you come with me please?" She asked him, but before he could wonder why, she said that she was going to go use the restroom for a bit before scurrying off.

Ben looked confused, but decided to wait for a bit before going to follow her to her destination. He went to the bathroom, where he got a shocking surprise. He found Nyu, with a flushed face and she had stripped to her bra.

"Ben," She said as he walked over to him. "I saw Yuka undressed and got that…'feeling' again." She said to him with embarrassment. Ben sighed a bit, knowing that those urges came up every once and a while. She then wrapped her arms around him. "Please do something with me...just real quick! Quick enough for me to get Yuka off my mind!"

Ben wrapped his arms around her waist. "But you might get me on your mind though." He said.

"That works!" Nyu said with impatience. "Ben, please!" She said. Ben sighed a bit and smiled.

"Ok then." He said as he kissed her, and she happily moaned into the kiss.

_5 minutes later…._

Yuka was now downstairs with Kouta and waiting by the door. And she was sighing a bit.

"Where is Nyu?" Yuka asked with impatience. "We're going to be late!" She said.

Kouta however looked at her with confusion. " _Aren't you the one who gave me crap earlier for the very same reason?_ " He thought with a raised eyebrow. After a few seconds, they finally saw Nyu come out, she was all chipper and happy, and she had some pink on her face. "Jeez Nyu, where were you?"

"In the bathroom." She said nonchalantly to them both. The cousins raised their eyebrows a bitk but deceived not to press things even further. Ben then came out to them all a few minutes later, and he looked as if he was put through some sort of wringer and he was blushing like crazy.

Kouta Looked at him and was a bit suspicious at first, but shook his head to dismiss it. "Ok, so we're going out now." He said to him. "Nozomi and Mayu will be down in a little bit for their school, and you and the others watch the place alright?"

"Yes sir!" Ben said as he saluted him. Yuka and Nyu giggled and Kouta gave him a short but amused glare.

"Ok, well, we'll see you all later." He said as he and the older students began to leave.

"See you all later." Yuka said with a smile as she walked out. Nyu hung out for a bit to give Ben a kiss on the cheek.

"See you later Ben." She said with a smile as she left to go for the others. Ben smiled as they all left. After a few minutes Mayu and Nozomi came down with their coats on.

"We'll be back later." Mayu said. Ben smiled at her.

"Ok squirt, be careful right?" He said as he then ruffled her hair.

"Ok, Big Brother." She said with a smile. Nozomi gave him a short hug and the two girls walked out the door.

Kevin then soon came out. "Damn, I'm so bored!" He said with annoyance. Ben turned to face him.

"Find something to entertain yourself then." Ben retorted. Kevin glared at him and was about to retort till they heard something. They all turned to the bird from earlier tweeting a bit and saw Nana going to feed it.

"Don't worry, here you go." She said in a sweet voice as she fed the bird. Both boys watched with smiles on their faces.

"That kids something else right?" Kevin asked him.

"Yea, she is." Ben said with a smile, for the many months, He has gotten closer to everyone in Maple Inn, but Mayu and Nana...he felt like he had the closest relationship of all besides Nyu. Those two viewed Ben as an older brother, and he saw them as younger sisters. Mayu and Nana meant alot to him, and he was more than willing to do whatever it took to keep them safe.

"Kevin, c'mon!" Gwen said to him as she was standing by the door. Ben looked at them and was confused.

"Where are you guys going?" He asked them with a raised eyebrow.

Gwen looked back at him. "Well we were planning on going to explore some of the town a bit more and do some shopping, you want to come with us?" She asked.

"Sorry, I'm on house guard duty." He said to them. "Where's Grandpa?"

"He's cleaning the dishes from breakfast." Kevin said to him. "Well, see you later Tennyson." He said. At this point, Nana looked over at them as well, Kevin saw her and gave a small smile. "See you later squirt."

"Bye you guys…" Nana said with a depressed voice. The Tenyson Trio looked a bit concerned, but Ben gave them a look that said 'I'll handle it' And with that the two lovers walked out of the house. Ben saw Nana and decided to go and sit with her.

"Hey Nana," Ben said as he sat down. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

Nana looked up at him and frowned a bit. "I don't know…"She said to him. "Remember months ago...when Papa, Mariko, and that one lady went back to that man you knew?"

"Professor Paradox? Yea, why?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow. Nana looked up at him.

"I'm just so worried…" She said with concern. "I mean I know they did bad stuff, but you and I know that they regret doing those….I just worry...do you think that they're alright?" she asked him with nervousness.

Ben then grabbed her by her hands and rubbed them gently. "Listen Nana, I know a lot of good people in my world, and the Plumbers can be trusted, my grandfather was one once….trust me, I'm sure they're all fine and dandy." He said he could still feel Nana being uncertain though. Ben sighed a bit. "Nana, I know it's hard, but trust me, they'll be fine."

Nana looked up at him and sighed a bit. "I trust you Ben...it's just...you know...I almost lost him that night...and I almost lost you as well…" She said with some hesitation. "Maybe that night is still on my mind…" She said as she got up. "I'm going to go lay down for a bit." She said as she got up and went to go to her room.

Ben was left booking a bit concerned for a bit. " _Still can't believe that night is still on her mind._ " He thought. " _Of course it was pretty intense...and me and Kurama almost got killed…_ " He thought as he rubbed his head. " _I wish Paradox could come and tell us about the machine…._ " He thought. For the many months he has not heard from Paradox and it was worrying him a bit.

Ben then had Nyu on his mind again. Well not really Nyu, it was Lucy...she was something, sure she had a large body count but he could understand her feelings...plus she was manipulated and was so vulnerable...how was he going to save her? Then Ben looked up. "I wonder…" he said as he got up.

Ben went into his room and he sat down, he activated his Omnitrix and looked through it. "Ok..where are you…?" He said as he tried to find his Diclonius form, but when he found it he smiled. "There you are…." He then had a look of confusion. "I still never got around to giving her a name…" He said as he then slammed down on the dial and was engulfed in a flash of light, one the light diminished, he was now in his Diclonius form.

"I wonder….I know!" She said as she slammed her fist to her palm. "Vectoria! I mean I have vectors...and it sounds like victoria...so it makes sense in a way." She said with a smile.

" _Wow..you named yourself?_ " A familiar voice asked. " _Kinda weird.._ " She said. Vectoria sighed a bit before closing her eyes.

"Is it something I do alright?" She said. "But enough about me, I want to know something….It's obvious that you are part of my mind just as the DNA voice is part of Lucy's." She said. "I want to know...are you going to manipulate me as well like the other voice or not?"

" _Not really._ " the voice said. " _You see, from what I seen, you seem to be quite the hero in these parts, of course I am still a bit uneasy since you're still human...but beggars can't be choosers I guess._ " the voice said. " _But what did you want to talk to me about? I doubt that's the only thing you wanted to ask me._ "

Vectoria sighed. "Yea...I want to know...all the Diclonius in the Institution...is there a way for me to save them all?" She asked. "I mean they are being brainwashed and since Lucy is the queen, the DNA Voice will manipulate them all just like what she did to Lucy."

The voice sighed a bit. " _I...I don't know kid, here's the thing. Diclonius gets captured at infancy and is experimented on, and the stuff they go through leads to them gaining a hatred towards the humans. But obviously, Kurama told you that already._ " She said. " _But why do you want to save them though? I ask because I never would have expected a human to want to save them._ "

"Yea? Well that was before I met Nyu...Lucy, whatever her name is." Vectoria said. "I didn't care about her horns, and after witnessing all that shit in her head from her childhood...and from what Kurama told me about...I want to find a way to get them all out of there...I just have to."

The voice sighed a bit and began to speak again. " _You're a very interesting person Ben Tennyson." She said with an amused tone of voice. "But still though, what is your plan anyway, plan on some big speech for them? Try to plead to them all or something?_ "

Vectoria sighed a bit. "I don't know….but I got to do something...these kids...they deserve to live a good life, a life far away from the facility, a life where people don't do experiments on them all…" She said. She wanted the Diclonii to be free from all of this.

The voice sighed a bit. " _Well whatever, since I'm part of you, I guess I have no choice but to root for you._ " She said.

Vectoria sighed. "You remind me of a certain Highbreed that didn't trust me either due to me being human, but I have a feeling that you and I will get along better." She said with a small smile.

The voice in her head chuckled. " _I'll see it to believe it...if that's all you wish to ask me, then I'll leave you now._ " She said. " _You know...I'm serious about what I said, you are very interesting for a human boy.._ " she said before Vectoria could see that there was no trace of the voice in her head.

Vectoria sighed a bit before she got up, her fingers brushing through her pink hair. "I just need to figure out what the hell I'm going to do." She said as she sighed a bit. "I wonder...maybe if I can get rid of the voice...maybe Lucy can communicate to the other Diclonii." She said with interest...would it work though?

* * *

_Yuigahama Beach_

Mayu was walking along the beach going to someplace, she told Nozomi not to worry and that she would catch up to her. Secretly, she had some food with her and was going to meet someone.

" _Hopefully he will like this._ " She thought as she began to walk towards an old wood pile, the same one that she slept in many months ago...before she moved into Maple Inn...before she found another family, a family that loved her alot.

"I can't believe it, it's snowing." A familiar voice said, making Mayu turn around. That voice was none other than Bando's.

Bando had been sleeping in the woodpile for months now, and when he saw it was snowing her was cold. "So freaking cold…" He said through gritted teeth. " _Now matter how many months have passed, no matter how much I want to forget, my yellow vision still reminds me of that night…_ " He thought with anger, he wanted to try to forget about Lucy and for what she did to him...but grudges are hard to let go sometimes. " _One day….one day soon…_ " He thought in anger.

"Uh...excuse me Mr. Bando.." Mayu said as she came up to him, making the former soldier look at her. "I brought you some rice balls and miso soup." She said as she handed him her bento box.

But Bando was annoyed. "Damn it, didn't I tell you that I didn't need your help brat?" He asked with annoyance, but he then sighed. "I'm in pieces here….to think that I have to rely on a brat like you to bring me food.." He said she opened up the box and began to dig in a bit.

"Don't be upset with me, please." Mayu said to him with a calm voice. "I mean...that is my dog's leftovers you know…

**SPAT**

"WHAT?!" Bando yelled comically after spitting the food out of his mouth, did this brat...really give him….food from a dog? Food that's been in a dogs mouth?

Mayu simply giggled at him though and put her hands up. "Don't worry, I was just kidding you." She said with a small smile.

"THAT WASN'T FUNNY YOU DAMN BRAT!" Bando yelled at her. He then sighed a bit before he took a sip of the soup he didn't spit out. "Well, anyways, I do want to know something." He said to her as he looked at her. "Why the hell do you bother with me anyway?" He asked. "For almost half a year, you bring me food and you sometimes help me clean up the beach….why do you bother? I figured you would hate me after that incident from the last time, especially with me getting my ass handed to your bastard American friend."

Mayu then looked down, he did have a point. Even after what he did to her and after Ben almost killed him...she was still being nice to him….why is she doing it? Was Ben's kindness getting to her? "I honestly don't know…" She said to him. Then she had to tell him something. "Hey...you said that you have been searching for the girl with horns on her head right?"

"Yea," He said as he took a bit from his rice.

Mayu twiddled her fingers a bit before looking a tad bit nervous. "Well I don't think that she will be coming here. And Bandos reaction?

"SAY WHAT!" He yelled loudly, so loud that it made Mayu cover her ears for a bit. "You don't understand nothin kid!" He said to her. "The only clues I got of her is this particular area!"

Mayu then looked down a bit. " _I know...thats why me and Ben have been trying to prevent Nyu from coming down here._ " She thought. In order to protect her from Bando, Ben, Gwen, and Mayu made sure that Nyu did not go anywhere near the beach, out of fear that Bando would try to kill her on sight. It's been hard to do, but so far the plan was successful.

Bando then eyed her suspiciously. "Or...is the reason you told me that...is because you're hiding something?" He said with suspicion.

Now normally, Mayu would be a bit hesitant and nervous, but she had grown a bit since that day. "No, I don't know anything…" she said to him, but then thought. " _This is why I'm atoning for it by bringing you food._ " In order to atone for the lie, she had been bringing him some food, even though they were lies. It was for the best as she didnt want You to get hurt by him. "That's why I feel like you should give up on your search for her here...and maybe go somewhere warm." She said to him.

This made Bando scoff a bit. "The hell are you talking about, kid? What is this warm place you speak of?" He asked, but secretly he was pretty much agreeing with her. He hasn't seen any sign of Lucy for over nearly a year now….he was wondering….if maybe he should listen to her…but he wouldn't tell her than to her face though. "Whatever….you should possibly get to school now kid." He said as he then finished off his soup.

Mayu then looked at her watch and was shocked, she was there for a while now and had to go, Nozomi must be worried by now. But before she could go, she was stopped by Bando who gave her some Yen.

"Here….for your lunch…" He gruntly said.

Mayu took the money and looked at it with awe. "Wait, are you serio-"

"Forget about it brat!" Banos snapped. "Just take it and leave me alone would you?" He asked in annoyance.

"Oh...ok then." Mayu said to him as she then decided to leave, not wanting to anger him anymore, but as she then left she turned back to face him. "Th-thank you." she said with a smile and walked away.

Bando saw her walk off and sighed a bit. "I swear, such a pain…" He said with annoyance, but then turned to look out into the distance. "But was she right though? Should I stop looking for Lucy? I haven't seen that horned bitch for many months…" He was uncertain...

* * *

_University_

Kouta, Yuka, and Nyu were all walking to the University where they all attended. Yuka however looked kinda upset.

"Don't you think it's kinda lonely watching the house all alone?" She asked.

"Well, Ben and his family are there so she isn't alone, plus she has the bird." Kouta said to his cousin, Nyu was walking close by.

"How come we couldn't take Nana and Ben with us?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow. "I mean we took Ben to university with us that one time, and Nana's never been there."

Kouta sighed. "Well we did have her come with us at one point remember?" He asked. "And she seemed disappointed. Plus she doesn't even look like a University student." He said.

Yuka looked at him and was thinking about it, he did have a point. She didn't really look like a university student, she looked like she belonged in Highschool or something. "Good point...but why didn't we take Ben with us like last time? Mainly you have been having him stay at the house to guard it or something."

Koiuta winced a bit, he remembered the soldiers who took Nyu that night...and he wanted someone to stay behind to guard the palace in case anyone asks questions. But Ben...Kouta was suspicious about him.

"Do you think someone is going to break into our home?" Yuka asked with a raised eyebrow.

"...Just taking necessary precautions.." Kouta said to her.

"That sucks," Nyu said. "I would've loved to have Ben with us…" She said with a sad face. Yuka went over and patted her on the shoulder.

"I know Nyu, but you'll get to see him after school though." She said to her as she then walked up to Kouta and began to whisper. "Have you noticed that Nyu seems to be a bit closer to Ben these past months?" She asked.

"Yea….I have." He said through gritted teeth, for the many months he has seen Nyu get close to Ben and have Been feed her, of course she was still lovable around the others, but she was always around Ben a lot. And it made Kouta a bit angry and jealous.

Yuka looked at Kouta and was a bit concerned. "Are you alright Kouta?" she asked with concern. Kouta looked at her and sighed.

Meanwhile, the nervous woman Arakawa, the former assistant to Professor Kakuzawa, was sitting down at her desk in relivity. "Never would I have imagined that I would be back here." She said as she looked up. "I also never thought that I would help destroy humanity either…" He flashed back to Kouta and Ben a bit. "I have to find those students and have talks with them both. But that one American...oh Jeez." She said as she rubbed her head.

She then got up a bit and looked around, after Kakuzawa's death, the whole place was neatly cleaned out. "I guess all they really wanted was the doc's research records and stuff like that." She said with solemness. But then her face perked up a bit. "But I do know…" she said as she walked over and knelt down at a desk. "Where the doc was concealing some valuable things." she said as she opened the door and got out some objects such as folders and two bags filled with a vile of liquid.

"Thank god the guys didn't find any of these." She said with relief as she took a vial and looked at it closely. "When I was a child...I had dreams of becoming a great scientist that would be recorded as being one of the greatest people ever….but this is not about the record of the greatest...it's about the bible." She said with dread.

She then got back up and went to go look out the window. "What The hell am I going to do?" she asked. "I mean, I have no clues on how to find those kids...their faces were generic, even though one was obviously a foreigner. Oh, what do I do? I'll never find her...and if I don't...well then." she began to sweat with nervousness as she then looked at the vial again. "Why did I take that bet? I don't even know what pleasure slaves even do." She moaned in agony.

( _Eyecatch featuring Kakuzawa and Toshiro standing back-to-back, both of them smiling viciously_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Nana and Mayu looking at Max's invention with awe_ )

_Motomachi Union Kamakura_

Gwen was in the store picking out some groceries for tonight. Not having anything to do, and knowing that her cousin, ehr boyfriend,d and her grandfather were watching over Nana. She decided to go shopping, Gwen had some Yen that he had transferred over and bought some stuff for dinner. She paid for everything and decided to walk home.

" _Never in a million years would I come to an alternate Earth, an Earth that contains mutans._ " She thought with amusement. "But you know, what can you expect right?" She asked herself. As she was still walking, she still couldn't help but think of what Ben had told her...about Nyu.

"I wonder if she even remembers about the murders…" She said with some dread. Ben had told her about the murders he saw in her dream and she was shocked. "I know I shouldn't feel sympathy for a murderer….but then again, her puppy got killed and she was being manipulated by that voice thing...I kinda wonder if the other half of her regrets the murders…" She said with some thought. "Well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there." She said with some solemness.

"Hey babe." She then turned to see a large man giving her a predatory grin. "You shouldn't be walking around here alone." He said to her. Gwen however looked at him and didn't look fazed. After dealing with aliens, Vilgax, Eon, and Aggregor, this guy was nothing special.

"No, I'm good, thank you." she said to him as she tried to walk away, but she was stopped.

"Hey, hey, woah now girlie. I'm just stating a fact, these streets aren't safe, especially since they are saying a bunch of stuff about Ultraman...why don't you let me walk you home?" He suggested it to her, but Gwen knew what his true motives were, and she knew that he was not going to take no for an answer.

Normally she would use her powers, but she didn't want to expose herself like her cousin….what was she going to do?

"Actually bud," A familiar voice said as she turned to see Kevin walking up to them. "She's with me." Kevin said with an annoyed tone of voice.

But the thug was not too intimidated that easily, he gave a cocky look. "Oh, yea? Listen tough guy." He said as he walked closer to him. "I don't know what their sexy girl sees in you, but I be-GGHH!" He stopped as Kevin grabbed two objects….objects that were….sensitive.

"Listen you dick," Kevin said in a dangerous tone of voice. "That is my girlfriend you are harassing, and you better turn your ass and walk away...or else I will put you in the hospital." He then grabbed the thugs...regions tighter and made the man squeal a bit. "Got it?

"Yes sir!" the thug squealed in a high-pitched tone of voice.

"Good, now get the hell out of here." He said as he then shoved the thug away, making the man weep and limp away. Kevin sighed and went and grabbed a bag from Gwen, who didn't really look amused.

"Jeez Kevin, you didn't have to go that far." She said to him. "Where were you anyway?" she asked with annoyance. "You could've helped me out with vetting the food."

"I just went for a walk." He said to her. "Besdes, I needed to do something in order for that guy to get the message." He said to her simply. Gwen sighed, knowing that there was no point in arguing they decided to head back to the house. As they walked Gwen talked to him about Nyu.

"You know….do you think her other half is regrettable for the murders she committed?" She asked him.

Kevin looked up a bit. "I don't know, I mean from what those kids did to her...I understand the pain she must have felt but then being talked about that DNA Voice or something...how do we know if all the murders she committed were actually her, or if it was the DNA Voice taking over the body or something?" He told her. While he listened to Ben's story, but it did make some sense, was Lucy really doing it all herself? Or did the DNA Voice do it?

"I guess…" Gwen said. "Also, I wonder if this device is going to work or not." She said with some hesitation.

"Don't worry about a thing, Ben literally saved the universe for crying out loud, I'm sure he can handle a split personality or something like that." Kevin snorted.

"I hope…" Gwen said with nervousness. She still is a bit unsure, from what she heard. This person was dangerous, sounded a bit more dangerous than Vilgax even….so she was worried. All she could do was hope that Ben would be alright.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben and Nana were both cleaning up the walls together….well, Ben was actually Vectoria this time. Vectoria had the idea of using their vectors to use the rags to clean up the hard to reach areas.

"I'm still amazed that you can become a Diclinius just like me, big brother!" Nana said with a smile, but it then turned to a confused frown. "Or Big Sister….?"

Vectoria giggled. "Don't worry about it Nana, when I'm like this, I'm Big Sister, and when I'm the real me, I'm Big Brother." She said with a smile. Nana then gave a short giggle as the two girls continued their work. "so..I found something out today." She said.

"Huh?" Nana asked. "What is it?"

"I got my own voice as Lucy has." she said, but she could see that Nana was about to panic and she calmed her down. "Don't worry it's nothing like the voice she has. this one is...pretty different to be honest with you."

"How different?" Nana asked him, she was still a bit nervous though.

"Well, she doesn't act all bloodthirsty or violent...but from our talks together, I think she is a bit judgemental of me. But she calls me interesting though…"

Nana couldn't help but giggle a bit at that. "Well, you do have a watch that can turn you into these alien thingies and into a Diclonius like me, so you are pretty interesting to say the least." She said with a smile. At this point, they heard some footsteps and Max came down the stairs.

"Hey, grandpa." Vectoria said with a smile. When Max learned from Ben that he could turn into a Dilonisu and was shown his form….the reactions were mixed. Gwen was shocked, Kevin couldn't help but blush, and Max? Well, he was surprised and shocked, but he would not judge though.

"Hey girls." He said as both Diclonisu smiled at him, he took a look at Vectoria and sighed a bit. "I still have to get used to seeing you as a girl." He said.

Vectoria chuckled a bit. "I know." She said as she put her rag down. "So what are you up to gramps?"

Max smiled at her. "I'm going to go for a little walk and try to get in with some Plumbers to see if that machine is ready yet." He said to her. "I should be back a little later." He said as he was about to head on out the door, but not before turning back to the girls. "You two will be alright by yourselves?"

"No problem Grandpa!" Nana said with a big smile on her face. "Say hi to Papa and Mariko for me please!"

Max smiled. "I will kiddo." He said before he left the house. Now there were only the two Diclonius and the small baby bird. Nana and Vectoria stopped wiping the walls for a while before deciding to take a small break.

"So...uh…" Nana began to say. "How many vectors can you sprout?" She asked.

Victoria then gave it some thought. "To be honest...I have no idea, I mean you saw me use two fo them for the walls….but since I copied Lucy's DNA, it can be said that I might possess the same amount of vectors as her...but that's something to be seen of." She said to her.

Nana looked into her cup again. "Do you...really think you can save Lucy?" she asked with concern. "I mean...from what you said to me...that voice in her….how do you plan on getting it out?"

Vectoria signed. "You probably don't remember, but in my world, The Plumbers are a galaxy force that fights off evil aliens, Grandpa was once a member. So I'm hoping that they can somehow build a device that will allow me to go inside Lucy's mind to fight off the DNA Voice.

"Can't you use one fo your alien things?" Nana asked him.

Vectoria sighed. "I don't have any aliens that can go in mind, well there is Pesky Dust, but he can't really fight inside, he can change dreams and see dreams..but not have an actual fight in here." She said.

Nana put her head down. "Oh...sorry." She said, making the older Diclonisu rub her head.

"It's alright." She said with a smile. As she was sitting down in thought, a part of her was still wondering something…" _If I am to fight the DNA Voice...what alien should I use?_ " She thought. " _I have many, and I bet I could easily defeat her with any of them….but since she is part of Lucy...I don't know…_ " As she still continued to think...she had a thought. " _Is it possible...that I could possibly use….Alien X?_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so where we go folks. So We saw Arakawa again and this time she was ordered to find Lucy and Ben as well, will she succeed? And what was that bet she made? Also we saw Bando again having a moment with Mayu. What will happen next time? We'll have to wait and see.
> 
> So I know that we were going to see the Unknown Man get his ass handed to him in this chapter, but it might happen in the next one, trust me, you don't want to miss it :)
> 
> Anyways, please don't forget to read and review, I'm always happy to hear from you all and happy to answer any questions you might have.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	30. Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He ladies and gentleman, I have returned with a new chapter. So last time we saw Arakawa contemplating a bunch of things, including her now working to eliminate humanity, and she is also forced to look for Lucy. Will she succeed? We shall have to see and find out.
> 
> So this chapter...it will be the moment...the moment of Toshiro the Unknown MAn getting hsi has handed...I am so excited to have written this :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

_Diclonius Institute Grotto_

"Arakawa," Kakuzawa said to her. "I want you to return to the University and find the students you said were looking for Lucy." He said to her, making her a bit nervous. She really didn't want to do it...but what if she refused?

"No," Toshiro said to him. "Arakawa is not suitable for this type of job, father. Capturing Lucy will be a task I will handle perfectly. Afterall." He said as he turned to smile at her. "You finished on that sample Apparatus, right? Lucy will be good in no time at all." He said.

Arakawa however wasn't too happy that he said that. " _You pervert…_ " She thought with anger. "I HAVE CLUES THAT OTHER PEOPLE DON'T HAVE! I WISH YOU WOULD STOP MUTTERING NONSENSE!" She shouted suddenly.

Toshiro then chuckled a bit before turning back to her. "Can't you take a joke?" He asked with a smug tone. Making Arakwa blush out of embarrassment a bit.

"Well...uh…" She said but to no avail.

Toshiro then turned around and chuckled once again ."Well then Arakawa, I'll make you a deal." He said. "Arakawa If I am to find Lucy before you….then you need to be my pleasure slave." He said. This made Karakawa look disgusted and horrified. "I mean, your clothes should maybe only cover up the nipples...that would be nice." He said as he licked his lips of the possibilities.

But Arakawa? She wasn't happy with the suggestion, she was horrified, and disgusted. Who did this...this...piece of filth think he was anyway? "ARE YOU A FUCKING IDIOT!" She yelled. "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!" She said to him.

But Toshiro just continued to chuckle a bit. "Well..that is true," He said. "I can't just expect a girl like you to make such a bet, nor have any real clues or stuff like that." He said.

But this just made Arakawa angrier. "Fine then, you're on!" She said to him. "And if I find Lucy before you….then you need to chop off your dick!" She said to him, hoping that it would frighten him, but to her shock and surprise, he didn't flinch. He just kept on smiling.

"Ok then...deal." He said as he then began to walk away. " _Stupid bitch…_ " He thought as he kept walking. Arakawa looked on ahead and was now nervous. What the hell did she just get herself into?

* * *

_University/Present Day_

Kouta, Nyu, and Yuka were walking around the University grounds.

"I can't believe that the Third Period has been canceled again," Yuka said with a sigh. "Professor Kakuzawa is still missing I guess." She said.

"Everyone is celebrating the free slot into their schedules. It looks like it." Kouta said as he saw some students happily smiling and conversing with one another.

"Yea...but still," Yuka said to him. "I remember that they said that the professor disappeared after it happened though...doesn't it ever get on your mind or something?" She asked him with curiosity.

"Yes...it does…" Kouta said to her, he remembered that night where he and Ben both saw the decapitated head of Kakuzawa with that woman. The thought of it makes him tremble a bit though… " _I wonder why they aren't disclosing it._ " He thought with curiosity, he then remembered about Arakawa telling him and Ben about not telling anybody about what they had seen. " _But what about that assistant?_ " He asked himself. " _And what about the professor's corpse?_ " He then remembered that the assistant said to him and Ben about how they find honored people isolate them, and then kill them. " _Even if he was a professor, they would kill him and take his body…_ " Kouta thought with worry. " _If they find the assistant, then they will capture Nyu and Nana...this is getting serious._ "

As they continued to walk. Kouta began thinking a little bit about Ben. " _But Ben….he is another mystery, he always disappeared and he came back badly hurt...what is he hiding from me? All of us?_ " He thought. " _And I don't know...but I wonder if it has anything to do with that watch of his…_ " He thought. He then sighed a bit though before he and the two other girls continued their walk. "I need to make sure they don't find that assistant woman."

"Kouta!" Yuka called out to him. "Are you alright, you seem spaced out a bit there. Just make sure to look ahead or you'll hurt yourself." She said to him.

"Right...sorry." Kouta said as he continued to walk. " _It's been alright till now...and classes are over for the day._ " He thought. " _I feel like shit is about to go down very soon…_ " He thought. "I just hope we don't run into the women." He said as he and the girls were walking right past a woman. But as they did the women gassed a bit, and turned around.

Turns out the woman was Arakawa and once she got a glimpse of Koutas face, she was shocked. "WAIT!" She yelled out to them all. Making them all turn to face her. When Kouta saw her, he immediately gassed and gulped. This was not good, no god at all. She was right there, right in front of them all! But he tried to keep his cool. "Well, uh, long time no see." Arakawa said, trying to remain calm. "How, uh, unexpected to see you." She said. But on the inside, she was staring at them hard. " _That's him, I'm sure of it._ " She thought.

Kouta tried to keep a calm head and tried to think of a way to get away from her.

"Kouta?" Nyu asked. "Who's this?" She asked as she tilted her head with confusion.

"Yuka...Nyu...run." He said to them softly, making both girls look at him with confusion.

"Kouta?" Yuka asked. "What are you-"

"Just trust me on this." Kotua interrupted. "When I say run, we run." He said softly and seriously at her and stared at Arakawa again. "Hey...I have to tell you something." He said to Afakawa, making the woman raise an eyebrow for a bit. "You got a nice, big set of tits on you." He said.

As soon as he said this, Arakawa's face became red as a tomato and covered her breasts with her arms. "Wh-what? What Are you saying?!" She said with shock.

"GIRLS, RUN!" Kouta yelled, as right then and there, he, Yuka, and Nyu bolted for it. Making Arakawa look shocked.

LIKE HELL YOU'RE GOING TO GET AWAY!" Arakawa yelled. "OR ELSE I'LL BECOME A PLEASURE SLAVE!" She said to them as he began to give chase to them all.

Kouta and the girls kept on running away from her, they had run past several students, some students had to jump out of the way, and Nyu accidentally ran into someone knocking him over.

"Sorry!" She called over her shoulder, not hearing the guy yell at her.

Arakawa was still giving them chase, full of determination to win that bet. " _I won't be a pleasure slave! I will win the bet! And that guy is going to have his cock chopped right off!_ " She thought with anger as she still kept chasing them.

As they kept on pushing through, Nyu felt herself trip out of her shoes and then tumbled onto the ground. With Kouta and Yuka calling out to her. Arakawa then caught up with them and grabbed her as she had an arm around her, but not around her though.

"Ok, now why are you all running away?" Arakawa asked. "I just want to ask you something." She said to them.

Kouta was nervous, he didn't know if this woman had a gun or any other weapon, but he didn't want to take the risk. And so he calmed down and kept a firm stance. "About what?" He asked firmly, Yuka was a bit nervous. Just what was going on? And who is this woman? And how does she know Kouta?

Arakawa looked at them with some intensity in her eyes. "Do you know where the honored girl is at?" She asked. This made Kouta and Yuka go wide-eyed a bit. "I just want to know where she is at...that's all."

Kouta and Yuka were now the ones who were tensing up a bit. They could tell this woman that Nyu was with them, if she was to find out, now only would Nyu be captured, but so would Nana. And that was a red alarm for them. But...they were also confused.

"I can't help it, but for some reason...I feel like she is near me as we speak." Arakawa said. Making both Kouta and Yuka raise eyebrows as beads of sweat went down their heads.

"Oh, really…" they both muttered. Nyu however was a bit scared, what was going on? Why was she being held like that? She wished Ben was here, she wanted him to help her.

"Well….anyway," Arakawa said to them. "I would like you to come down to the lab and talk with me for a little while.

Kouta however stood his ground. "Sorry, but there's nothing to discuss." He said, but still, sweatdropped a bit. " _She...really doesn't realize who she is holding...doesn't she?_ " He thought. "Because I don't know anything about horned girls, nor is there anything that concerns me about the sort." He said.

Yuka was looking at him as if he was crazy. " _What are you talking about?_ " She thought with worry and horror, was Kouta..refusing to help?

Nyu was also worried. " _Kouta, why aren't you helping me?_ " she thought with concern.

Arakawa was growling a bit. "Now you listen, you're not going to get away from keeping vital information from me, you hear?" She said to him. "I know certain people who can crush your peaceful life in an instant." She snapped, but she then calmed down before speaking a bit more calmly. "Now..as you know, horned girls aren't;t something you could deal with easily. They're definitely too much for someone like you to handle."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yuka asked with annoyance. But secretly, she didn't believe her, after all...Nana and Nyu have horns...well Nyu used to, and yes they are a handful, but they are both sweet and very kind. Inwardly, she was angry a bit at assuming that Nyu and Nana were bad people.

"Horned people and humans can't coexist with each other!" She said to them. This made Kouta look at her and then remember something, a girl with horns….with him as a child, but it was false as he then felt that same pain in his game, but he ignored it as he stared firmly at Arakawa.

"And why's that?" He asked. He knew that Nana and Nyu were really nice people, and have been amazing for the past half-year, so why couldn't they exist with humans?

Arakawa then stared hard at him and Yuka and sighed a bit. "Horned people are born killers." She said. "And anyone who gets near them...well...they get killed without exception.

This brought silence to them all, the silence and tension...it was so high that you could easily cut it with a knife if you wanted to. No one made a noise for a moment...but someone did...and the thing he said was an unexpected laugh.

Kouta was just laughing about that. Like he met Nyu and Nana and they never hurt them before. So it was pretty funny other such nonsense from these crazy women. "What a load of bullshit!" He said as he continued to laugh a bit.

But this made Arakawa angry. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" She yelled at him with anger. "I'M BEING SERIOUS!" She said to them all.

Kouta then gave her a small smirk. "If that were true, then you would have died a long time ago." He said to her. He wasn't trying to be mean, but she should realize that she was in fact holding a horned girl...well, a girl who did have horns at least.

"What the hell are you?" As Arakawa was about to ask, she took a glance over at Nyu, who had a frightened look. And once she did, Arakawa's eyes went wide as saucers. She was….right there...Lucy was...right there! And what did Arakawa do?

"WAAAA!" Arakawa screamed and let go of her instantly and began to bow with fright, worried that she would get killed. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please don't kill me, I don't want to die a virgin!" She splattered with worry, but then she slowly got up to take a glance, but then as she did, there was no one there at all. "They..ran away.." She whispered in fright. "Oh no…!" She said as worry built up in her.

Meanwhile, Kouta was grabbing onto Nyu's arm and he and the two girls were running as fast as they could. They didn't stop until they reached all the way outside and got some good distance from the university once they did, they stopped to catch their breaths.

"This *huff*should be *huff* far enough," Kouta said as he was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath.

"Who was that? *huff*" She asked him.

Kouta breathed a few more times before he was finally able to breathe again. "She was a former assistant to Professor Kakuzawa." He said to her. This made Yuka surprised a bit.

"Really?" She asked him, making him nod his head. Yuka then got worried and confused. "But who does she know about Nyu and Nana?" She asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds like she wants to take Nyu someplace far away." Kouta said to her. Making Nyu, who was listening frightened.

"NO!" She screamed. "Please don't send me away! I don't want to go anywhere, I want to stay with you and everyone else." She pleaded. " _I don't want to leave Ben either, I don't want to leave my love behind!_ " She thought with fright and worry.

Kouta however placed his hands on her face and stared at her. "Don't worry Nyu, we won't let them take you away from us." He said with determination. Nyu then sniffled and nodded.

"And why would she call me a killer? I don't kill, I would never do such a thing!" She was horrified, who could think of such a thing? She was a good girl, and she would never hurt anyone, she saved a baby bird after all!

"We know that Nyu," Yuka said as she gave the girl a soothing hug. "That woman is crazy in the head, we know you would never do such a thing." She said in a soothing voice as Nyu hugged her back.

Kouta then looked outward into the distance. "Nyu, think you're better off watching the house with Ben and Nana for the time being."

Nyu let go of Yuka and wiped a tear from her eye. "Ok…" She said softly. On the bright side now she could be closer to Ben. And she would still hang and do fun things with Nana.

Kouta sighed again. " _This isn't good. If that woman is to find out that Nyu is living with us….No, I can't think about it now._ " He thought. " _I need to tell Ben about that when we get back._ " He thought.

* * *

_Yuigahama Beach_

Bando was still cleaning up some of the beach. After what Mayu had told him earlier that morning, he was thinking it over. Sure he could just walk away...but he could never forgive Lucy for what she did to his eyes and his arms.

"It's getting late, Wanta." He turned to see that Mayu was walking amongst the beachline. He didn't know how long she was gone for, but he had a feeling that school was over for her...or whatever. When Wanta whined a bit, she kneeled down and gently had him look into her eyes. "Now Wanta, when it gets really really dark outside, we have to go to him, understand?" She said to him. Wanta was not happy but decided to relent...for her sake. "Now let's go home. Alright?" She asked as she picked him up and began walking away.

Bando saw this all and just sighed a bit. " _I swear...I think that is making me go soft or something…_ " He thought with dread as he continued to clean up.

Meanwhile, Toshiro was at some spot in the town looking out into it, his hands in his pockets and sighing a bit. "Now...I wonder where Lucy is at." He said. "But also, I wonder what father meant by a boy? There are tons of boys here in Kamakura." He said as he began to walk around. "There's gotta be something about him that stands out from the rest…..father mentioned that someone said that his Ultraman guy had a green hourglass on his stomach…." Toshiro then rubbed his chin a bit in thought.

"I guess I need to find a boy with an hourglass on him? I'll just focus on Lucy for now and deal with the boy later." He said as he got out a phone that showed a radar, that was beeping, this made him give a grin. "I didn't expect the radar to find Lucy's trail this quickly." He said with a keen interest in his voice. "Tracking will be easy, but I need to make sure not to get killed by her." he then took a look at the metallic thing on his back and smirked a bit.

Mayu was then shown waking up at Maple Inn. "I'm home!" She said. Then Nana and Ben were both shown walking out to greet her.

"Hey, Mayu." Ben said with a smile. "How was school?" He asked.

Mayu smiled. "It was fine, how were things here?" She asked.

"It was alright, we got some cleaning done, and Gwen and Kevin came back with some groceries, they are upstairs right now taking naps, and Grandpa is sleeping as well."

Mayu giggled and then turned to Nana, who had a look of uncertainty on her. "Nana, are you ok?" She asked. Nana looked at her and then down again.

"Sorta...I guess." She said as she walked over to sit down for a bit. Making Ben and Mayu look concerned.

"Can you try talking to her?" Ben asked Mayu, I'm going to check on dinner." He said as he walked away, making Mayu nod her head. She then turned and walked to Nana.

"Nana?" Mayu asked, looking into Nana's depressed face. "Are you ok?"

"I...I don't know, I just miss my papa." Nana said. "I haven't seen him in such a long, long time, and I have no idea how he is doing." She said. Of course, she really didn't mention to Mayu about her father going into another dimension along with Mariko, but….

"Well...I'm sure he is fine wherever he is." Mayu tried to tell her, but it didn't really work.

"I...I know, but you know...it's just...I don't even know how I'm going to find him though. But hopefully, I'll see him soon." Nana said as she then took an apple and took a bite out of it a little bit.

Mayu then looked down at her as she then grabbed her left hand and began to rub in a circular motion soothingly and slowly. "I'm sure you will see him again soon, Nana." She said to her.

Nana sighed a bit and looked at her. "Thanks….you know...Mayu….for the past many months as I have been here." Nana then had tears going down her eyes. "You've been my best friend….and I don't know...I don't know-" but was interrupted by Mayu hugging her.

"I know." She said as she felt tears go down her own eyes as well. "You're my best friend, you're my sister….my family….I don't want anything to happen to you." She said as the two girls hugged each other and cried softly, their family love for eachother being the shield for them both. And Ben as well.

The two girls then thought of Ben. Ever since they have met him, they have looked up to the older boy and viewed him as not just an older brother, but as a protector to them both, they were both very grateful for having him in their lives.

But as they continued to hug, Nana immediately had her head go up and her eyes went as wide as a saucer. She was hearing something.

" _It hurts…_ " The voice said, the voice Nana was hearing sounded like it was in massive pain. " _It hurts so much…_ "

"Wh-what is this?" Nana asked as she looked around, all around her, the inside of Maple Inn was replaced by a seemingly dark void.

" _Run….now…_ " the voice said again. This made Nana look around, looking a bit frightened and scared.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Nana screamed. "WHO IS IT?!" As she yelled, she heard the voice calling again, and she then turned to the source, when she did….her eyes went wide as saucers and sweat went down her head. For she saw something...horrible.

She saw a mangled looking creature crawling towards her, the creature was bloody, curdling, and looked as if it was melting like ice cream. The creature raised its arm. " _Kill me...please…..I beg you._ " It said, begging to be killed off. Nana held her hands on her mouth.

Mayu was looking at her best friend and saw that Nana was in a trance, and had tears going down her eyes. "Nana? What's wrong?" She asked. "Please answer me!" She said, shaking her. But to no response. Mayu got worried and called for help. "BEN, KEVIN, GWEN!" She yelled loudly. She called and called again until the three teens scrambled down the stairs and asked what was wrong. "It's Nana! She is...I don't know what's going on!" She said. Ben and the others saw Nana and got worried and rushed towards her.

"Nana! Are you ok?" Ben asked her with a concerned tone of voice.

"Speak up kid!" Kevin said as he shook her gently. Gwen tired next.

"Nana, speak to us! Please!" Gwen said, but Nana was still lost in a trance, Kevin gene felt her wrist to see if he could get a heartbeat.

"I got a heartbeat, but what the hell is wrong with her?" Kevin asked. As everyone was wondering what to do. they heard someone enter the house and who was it? Toshiro!

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben and Lucy standing side-by-side_ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Nana and Mayu riding on Wild Mutt_ )

Everyone was taken aback by this new arrival. Ben, Kevin, and Gwen all had some defensive looks on their faces. Because of this guy….they couldn't explain it...but something was up with him, his looks, it looked...disturbing.

"Uh...hello." Mayu said as she walked up to him.

"Mayu don't." Ben warned. But Mayu didn't hear him and kept on walking up.

"So...who might you be?" Mayu asked. Toshiro did not acknowledge her, but he stared simply at Nana. And he was not happy.

"You don't...seem like Lucy, no not at all." He said with some disdain in his voice. "This is such a blunder...not funny at all." He said, but then he felt someone grab him by the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir." Mayu said. "But what kind of business do you-"

**BAM**

Mayu was kicked right in the stomach and was sent flying backward into the wall.

"MAYU!" Gwen and Nana shouted with shock as the two girls ran over, but this did not sit well with the boys.

"Who the hell do you think you're doing, you son of a bitch?" Kevin said as he ran over to punch the guy, but Toshirp grabbed Kevin's fist and punched him in the gut. Ben then ran over and attempted to attack, but Toshiro did the same thing as well, and the two boys were down.

Toshiro scoffed a bit. "Annoying little bastards…" He muttered.

"HEY!" Toshiro then turned to see Nana yelling at him. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING!?" She yelled as she and Gwen were both cradling Mayu's unconscious body.

"Spare me your bullshit," Toshiro said as he glared at them all. "Now what would I do if Arakawa were to find Lucy before me, huh?" He asked as he looked around.

Ben and Kevin both groaned a bit as they both looked up at the man, what was his deal, and why was he here? Whatever reason, they had to be careful. Ben was rubbing the palace where he was hit and rubbed it.

Nana, who was holding onto Mayu as they were hiding behind Gwen, was looking at the strange-looking bag that Toshiro was carrying on his back, and was hesitant to ask what it was...but her courage helped her out.

"Hey!" Nana called out. "What's in your bag?" She asked. Making everyone present wonder the same thing, Mayu was still scared but she too was just as curious.

Toshiro was looking at her and then at the bag and shrugged his shoulders. "Am I really at this close to the range?" He asked. "Well, since we have gotten this far, I might as well give you a farewell introduction...while you're still living that is." He said as he then dropped the bag and pushed a button, and once the bag opened everyone got a glimpse of what they saw. And once they did….well.

Everyone was shocked, horrified, nothing could even...even describe what they were seeing! Kevina and Ben were both wide-eyed and trembling a lot, Gwen put her hands to her mouth and felt like vomiting, and Mayu screamed and held onto Nana tight as such a vicious sight.

"How...cruel…!" Nana said. At this point, some footsteps were coming down the stairs and Max had a look of concern on his face.

"Guys, what's going-" but as soon as he got down, and he saw the...thing inside Toshiro's bag...he too trembled with fright. "What the…?

"What is that…." Kevin asked softly. Before he then slammed his fist to the wall, causing it to rumble and cause a dent. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?" He screamed Toshiro "JUST WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK ARE WE STARING AT?!" He said. Ben was staring at it with right….but on the inside, something was telling him to do something….something bad as his fist was balled.

Toshiro took no notice of Kevin's yelling and shrugged as he pointed at the abomination. "This you see is a Diclonius I was using as a radar to find Lucy since Diclonius can teach each other. And the reason she is like this? Well...She was amputated from the chest upwards, and the container I am holding is basically her life-support." He said, making everyone stare at the malformed Diclonius girl with horror and sympathy, what kind of….horrible things did that girl go through? "But whatever you want to call it, she will not last more than three days, since she no longer has any of her internal organs."

He sighed again as everyone just looked on in horror. "And since I don't want to get detected, I keep her with me in a near-death state. And you see the Apparatus put into her spinal cord? It makes her feel pain instantly so she is unable to use her vectors."

"But why?" Ben asked in anger. "Why keep her like this? What did she do to you?" He asked in anger. Toshiro however was not intimidated so easily.

"Just so she can fall in line." He said simply. "It's a shame really...I wanted to keep calm for a bit longer...but then again…." His calm look then turned into one of pure anger. "SHE'S SO FUCKING USELESS!" He yelled as he then kicked the bag right over, causing it to crash to the ground and for the girl to get crushed a bit, making blood splatter to the floor. "I TOLD YOU TO FIND LUCY! AND ALL WE FOUND WAS THIS GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SILPELIT!" He yelled in anger.

As he was doing this. Everyone was shocked at this. Did he….just kill her? Why did he do that? And what exactly did that girl go through? Nana and Ben were both horrified and Mayu was simply burying her head into Nana's shoulder, trying to block the horrible sight of it all. But Ben and Kevin? They were trembling a bit in anger.

"Oops, I accidentally killed her." Toshiro said with sarcasm and a mocking tone of voice. "But alas, she was already going to die anyway, for you see. Before her lower bottom was cut off….I got a bit rough with her." He said.

This sentence alone made Ben, Nana, and Kevin look at the man and give him a dark look on their faces.

"What did you just say?" Kevin asked in a low but dangerous tone of voice. And he was not the only one, Ben was also feeling the same way as well.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Oh right….you see...I was a bit...rough with her if you know what I mean." He said with a sadistic smile. That made Kevin and Ben go wide-eyed..this guy….he...he did…. "But who cares? She was close to death anyway." He said with a smug tone of the movie. Not really caring about her at all.

This made Ben and Kevin even angrier. But before they could do something about it, Nana pushed aside a bit before staring at Toshiro very...very...angrily. "Knowing only the harshness…." She said. "Not knowing anything about the good of this world….." She got furious and her vectors sprouted out, not seen by the others, but Toshiro simply smirked at her. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" She yelled as she almost sent her vectors at Toshiro, but before she could she felt a hand grip her shoulder softly. She then angrily turned to see who touched her but when she saw Ben looking at her, her face softened.

"Nana, let me handle this guy." He said to her softly. Nana looked at him as if he was crazy.

"But...but he-"

"Just let me handle it." He said. As the two were looking at each other.

**BAM**

Nana was instantly hit by a spiked ball that landed on her stomach, making everyone go into shock with horror. And turned to Toshiro who had a crossbow on him and gave an evil smile.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Ben yelled as he ran towards him to try to hit him, but Toshiro simply dodged and grabbed Ben by the arm and threw him over to Ben and Kevin. Max then ran towards Toshiro, but the younger man grabbed a short knife and stabbed him in the shoulder, making Max yell in pain. Gwen then in anger charged, but Toshiro grabbed her and threw her into Max.

Mayu saw in fright at what was going on. Part of him wanted to go and run to a phone….but she was just so nervous to do so. She was also worried about the others. But she was mainly worried about Nana who was crying in pain.

"Do you like it?" Toshiro asked with a smug look. Unfortunately for you, there are barbels on the thorns so you can't pull them out with ease." He said. And those iron balls are two kilograms each, once they are fired from a five-meter range, it can't be stopped by Diclonus easily." He said all of this as he was giving out a lecture, a smug look that made Ben tremble a bit. "Of course you won't be mortally wounded by the hit itself….but…" He said smugly.

As everyone was confused as to what was going on. Nana felt something in her….something hurtful….. "AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nana yelled loudly, so loud that it shook nearly the whole house but they didn't care, the people in the house (minus Toshiro) were concerned for her.

Toshiro smiled as he said to them all wickedly. "You see, a Neurotoxin oozes out of those spiked balls, you see. The pin you are experiencing must be very unthinkable isn't it?" He asked smugly. "Well whatever, in that condition you are in right now, you should be incapacitated enough to be captured…"

But no one was listening to him, rather they were all worried for Nana as Mayu was at her best friend, looking at her with extreme worry. And so everybody else, who had recovered went over to the screaming girl

"Nana! Nana!" Mayu spoke with massive worry, but Nana was still in alot of pain. Kevin then looked at Gwen.

"Gwen, use your mana to heal her?" He said to her and Gwen node deer head. But as Toshiro looked at Mayu, his eyes….turned predatory, and licked his lips.

"Well…" He said, making everyone look at him with anger. "A beautiful little flower." He said as Mayu noticed his glaze and got scared, and began to back away. "You know...I have grown tired of playing with Dicloni...that one I just killed...she was fun and all, but nothing beats that of a normal human though...Why don't I try playing with you….hmm?" He asked as he licked his lips with anticipation.

As Ben heard this, his eyes widened…..memories of Mayu's stepfather coming to his mind. This….bastard...he was going to….to….rape her! His friends then got in defensive poses as Ben still kneeled there.

"You lay one hair on her, and you will regret it!" Max said as he stood right in front of Mayu, who was right behind him and frightened.

Toshiro scoffed a bit. "Oh, really gramps? Do you think you can fight me? You're too old. I'll just kill you and your little friends. And once they are done….that Sipilet...she looks fun to play with as well." He said with an evil grin. Everyone got even angrier as they began to get defensive, but then. Something stopped them.

"No…" they all unread so see Ben, a dark look on the boy's face as he stared at Toshiro with much anger...hatred….."Gwen, you and everyone else get Nana and Mayu out of here." He warned. He then rolled up his sleeve to reveal the Omnitrix. And once he did, Toshiro widened his eyes.

"You….you're the boy my father talked about!" He said, his shock then turned into an eager look. "This is interesting, finally I have you in my sight." He then pointed his crossbow at him. "Be a good boy and don't move, and I might let you watch as I have my fun with your little friends over there." The man said with a wicked smile.

Ben then narrowed his eyes darkly at him. He was not….going to let...this bastard hurt the people he cares about, especially not his younger sisters! "You and your father want me?" He asked as he scrolled through the Omnitrix and slammed it, and once the light diminished, he was now Four Arms. "TRY CAPTURING ME NOW ASSHOLEE!" He roared as he then charged at Toshiro, the man tried firing his crossbow, but Four Arms dodged right away and gave a solid punch right at Toshiro's face, causing him to go back and hit the wall, knocking stuff right down off of shelves.

Toshiro spits out some blood. "What the-" but then he was grabbed by Four Arms with his one hand. The large Tetramand groped in fury as his yellow eyes bore into Toshiro's (which was covered by his sunglasses. And what did Four Arms do? He began pounding into him mercilessly.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU PIECE OF SHIT?!" Four Arms road in anger as he began beating the hell out of the man. "RAPING INNOCENT PEOPLE? THREATENING MY YOUNGER SISTERS?! WELL GUESS AGAIN!" HE yelled as he began beating him some more. Toshiro was now looking a bit worse. His face was being all mangled, blood oozing out of his nose and mouth, Ben was going to kill him...LITERALLY kill him.

Everyone watched with some horror in their eyes. Even Nana, who was held up by Gwen, all of them pretty shocked.

"I saw Tennyson go this far!" Kevin said with nervousness, of course, he too was angry at the man and wanted a piece of him as well...but he didn't want to get in the way...less he wants to get his own ass kicked... Nana and Mayu were just watching with worry, sure that man threatened them...but Ben….he was too kind to do this.

After a few more minutes, Four Arms then grabbed Toshiro's arm and…

**SNAP**

He snapped Toshiro's right arm, breaking it. Making the man scream in massive amounts of pain. Four Arm then threw him to the ground, now Toshiro was panting heavily as blood was oozing out of his injuries. Four Arms then pressed the hourglass dial on him and he then turned into Diamondhead.

"Alright, asshole." He growled as he grabbed Toshiro by the throat and lifted him off the ground into the air. Diamondhead's arm then turned into a sharp crystal blade. "Get ready…"

Toshiro had finally lost his cockiness and was now worried about his life. "No, please. Let me go." He pleaded. "I'll leave you all alone, I won't come back...please!" But it all went on deaf ears as Diamondhead slammed him into the ground and lifted his blade.

"DIE ASSHOLE!" The Petrosapien yelled she was about to slash the man with his blade, but soon stopped as he felt some hands grab onto him just as his arm blade was an inch away from going right into Toshiro's face. Diamondhead got angry and turned to see who it was, but when he did, his face became a bit soft. Because Mayu and Nana were holding him tight, both girls looked up at him with tears going down their faces.

"Please stop!" Mayu begged him as she gave him a pleading look that pleaded with him to stop with what he was doing.

"Ben...please don't do this." Nana said through her tears as well. Diamondhead was shocked a bit at them, why would they want him to stop? This bastard...he threatened them….wanted to play with them….why would they defend him?

"But….he hurt you…" He said in a soft tone, a tone that was shocked...but at the same time, one of regret.

Mayu and Nana looked at him again with prideful eyes. "I know!" Nana said to him. "But you can't kill him...you aren't like Lucy! You're Ben, you're my big brother….please don't do this!" She said to him with concern. She always saw Ben as a kind-hearted boy, and she would never be able to see it in him to kill.

"Same here!" Mayu said to him. "Ever since I met you, you have been nothing but a joy to me and my entire life! You, Kouta, Yuka, Nana, Nyu, Nozomi. You have all given me something to live off...you saved me from my horrible past….You're a kind-hearted guy, and you're my big brother….please don't do this." Mayu said as she laid her face into his large chest.

Diamondhead was conflicted a bit, part of him wanted to kill that guy….but a part of him didn't though….then he felt someone pat him and he turned to see Gwen.

"Don't do this cousin…" She said to him with a stern but concerned tone of voice. She remembered about the time where Ben was going to kill Kevin when he thought that Kevin couldn't be saved….but this was different, sure this bastard was a monster...but Ben was not the kind of guy to kill people...Diamondhead looked over at Kevin and Max and they both had solemn looks on their faces. Normally, Kevin would be behind Ben all the way…..but he knew that there was a different way to do it, so did Max.

Diamondhead Looked at them all, and then at Toshiro, who was breathing heavily and had blood oozing out of his nose and mouth. The large Petrosapien cooled down a bit and then his arm blade then lowered itself. Toshiro noticed...well just barely due to his eye being swollen, but he did get a close up of the man's face.

"You're lucky, asshole. If it weren't for them...I would have killed you…" He said in a low-yet dangerous voice. The man just squeaked in fright as he was then dropped ruthlessly to the floor., leaving the man out cold. Diamondhead then hit the dial on his chest and turned back into Ben. The boy then looked to see Nana and Mayu, who were still having tears go down their eyes. "I'm sorry…" He said with regret in his voice.

But it didn't matter, the two girls just ran over to him and hugged him tightly. Happy that he was back to his senses again. "I'm so happy you didn't kill him." Mayu said to him. "I hate him...and it did bring me back bad memories of my stepfather….but...but….-"

"I know, squirt." Ben said as he rubbed a tear from her eye. "And I'm so sorry if I scared you." He said as Mayu sniffled a bit as she smiled a bit. Ben then turned to Nana. "I'm sorry if I scared you too Nana."

Nana sniffled a bit as she looked at him. "When I saw you beat him up…..I instantly thought of Lucy and Mariko….I was so scared that you might…...you might…"

"I know." Ben said to them. "I'm sorry...I really am." He said as Nana and Mayu both hugged him again and cried into his shoulders, and Ben himself was spewing some tears as well.

While they did this. Kevin walked over, grabbed Toshiro, and put him on the ground, and Gwen put a mana barrier around him to prevent him from moving. "Listen up dude…" Kevin said with anger. "Who sent you? And you better tell the truth." He said.

Toshiro sneered at him. "I ain't telling you shit!" He said as he spat at Kevin's face, getting blood on the young man's face. Kevin breathed as wiped the blood off. "Ok asshole…" He said as he then got a knife out of...somewhere? And he touched it, and he began to absorb it, turning his whole body into steel.

"Woah!" Nana and Mayu said with awe and shock. Toshiro got nervous and Kevin turned his arm into a blade and held it to the man's neck.

"We can do this the easy way...or the hard way….pick one." The Osmosian said with anger in his voice.

Toshiro, not wanting to get beaten up again, breathed and relented. "Ok...I was sent by my father….Chief Kakuzawa…..he...he sent me to find Lucy and to find a boy with a weird looking watch….which I did over there." He said as he looked at Ben, who was glaring at him hard.

"Who is this guy?" He asked.

My dad is the one who is running the Institute." Toshiro said to him. "He's the one who is capturing all Diclonius…" He said as he then sneered. "He wants Lucy for his own purpose."

"What does he want Lucy for?" Nana said, suddenly getting up and having an agent glared at him. Shocking some of the people there, but it didn't last long as they wanted answers and they wanted them now.

"My father wants Lucy for his own gain. He wants to wipe out all humanity….and Lucy is the key to it all." He said as he looked at Ben. "And you….you ruined his plan by getting rid of that missile!" He said with anger." Ben and a few others were shocked, guess someone decided to squeal….

Ben glared at him. "Sorry bud, but I am not going to let you or your father destroy all humanity. I am going to stop him, I'm going to free all the other Diclonius you trapped here...and you and your father? You will fail." He said.

Toshiro laughed a bit. "Oh? Like some little shitty human like you can stop him? What can you do? I doubt you have a weird monster that can stop us!" He said.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Didn't stop me from beating the shit out of you!" He snapped. "Now you better tell us what is go-"

"Do not worry my boy." A familiar voice said to them all. They all turned to see Professor Paradox, smiling a bit, they made everyone there surprised, and Mayu was a bit scared.

Gwen noticed this and smiled gently. "Don't worry. He won't do anything to you." She said to the younger girl, who was still a bit nervous.

"What are you doing here, Paradox?" Kevin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Paradox smiled. "Well I came here to check up on everybody, and it seems like I walked into a bit of a confrontation." He said. "So….who is this guy?" He asked as he looked at Toshiro with raised eyebrows. They all began what happened and then the professor narrowed his eyes at the man. "I see...well good thing I got here in time."

"Why?" Max asked.

"Well Mr. Tennyson, I came here to let you all know that we are nearly done with that device you wanted them all to build." He said with a smile. "And not only that, but I wanted to tell something to young Nana there." He said.

Nana was still in some pain, but she walked on over to the professor and looked at him. "Is it about Papa?" She asked him.

Paradox smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, my dear. Your father is doing very fine. Along with Shirakawa and Mariko. Your father has been doing many things for some redemption. And Mariko is also attending school right now." As soon as she said this. Nana had a big smile on her face. She was very happy that her father and Mariko were doing much better. "Oh, and one more thing...your father wanted to bring you this." He said as he handed her a package.

Nana took it to open it up to find a yummy looking cake and a picture of Kurama, Shirakawa, and Mariko standing together in what looks like a new home and all of them were smiling. Nana was smiling a bit at the sight of it until she also saw a little note and when she got it, she opened up to read.

' _Dear Nana,_

_I hope you are being a good girl for Ben. I wanted to write to you to let you know that I am doing good. I have been trying my hardest to make up for everything I have done to those kids all those years ago. I have been providing them with info about the Institution and hopefully, that place can be destroyed soon._

_I hope you are doing well and Mariko sends her love as well, and she hopes to see you again soon. And as I said before, behave yourself for your big brother and his other family as well._

_And to Ben…..I hope...I hope you can help Lucy. I mean I am still hesitant about it….but if Nana is supporting you, then so will I._

_Kurama._ '

Nana teared up a bit after reading it, and Gwen went over to calm her down a bit as Mayu, who was still a bit nervous about the new arrival, walked on over and joined Gwen in calming down Nana. Then Toshiro who was now unconscious was beginning to stir up a bit. But he was then popped back into unconsciousness by Paradox.

"None of you need to worry about him." He said to them all. "I will bring him back. We will interrogate him, and then we will send him to the Null Void." Paradox said as he grabbed Toshiro's unconscious body and began dragging him to the portal that had opened up. "Oh, and Ben. We are almost done with the device….so we shall let you know when we will come. And also, be prepared, because the Plumbers are getting an entire army and we are going to liberate the whole facility."

Ben looked at him and nodded. "Ok professor...thanks." He said with a smile.

"No problem my boy. Take care, everybody." He said as he took Toshiro and they both left through the portal. Making them both disappear and everyone looking to where they were at.

"Um...excuse me.." Mayu said meekly. "Who was that?" She asked.

"Professor Paradox." Kevin's aid to her. "Basically a weird guy who has the knowledge and has gone through several worlds, timelines, and other stuff." He said, making Mayu look amazed.

"Wow...but...what did he do to that...man?" She asked.

"Well, you heard him." Ben said to her. "He is going to take him back, they are going to interrogate him, and they will send him to the Null Void, a large intergalactic prison for alien criminals. But don't worry...I don't think he is going to survive there." Ben said with a cold tone in his voice. A tone that made some of them look at him with surprise.

"Never considered you for the dark one, Tennyson." Kevin said to him.

Ben scoffed. "That piece of shit threatened Mayu and Nana…." He said with anger, but he then turned to face the two mentioned girls and his eyes softened a bit. "But I am glad you both got to me before I did something I would've regretted." Nana went over and hugged him again, and so did Mayu, and everyone else was smiling a bit at seeing such a good moment.

"Hey," Max said. "I don't want to break up this moment. But we should possibly-"

"NANI!?" They all turned to see Kouta, Yuka, Nyu, and Nozomi, all of them looking horrified and the color drained from their faces. "What….the…..hell?" Kouta asked in a shocked tone of voice upon seeing the destruction.

Ben and the others simply turned nervous and had sweat going down their heads….how were they going to explain this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that folks. Sorry, it took me so long, I had some difficulty trying to figure out how to write this one up. I say that because I didn't want to just have Bando come and save Mayu...so I went a different route, sorry if none of you like it.
> 
> So after this….I need to think it over. But now we know that Kurama, Mariko, and Shirakawa are doing much better. And Kurama has been giving the Plumbers information on the Institute. And the machines they are developing are almost complete.
> 
> Also, Paradox is going to bring Toshiro back to their base, then get some information out of him as well, and that piece of shit is going to go into the Null Void :) Also, some of the plumbers are getting ready to liberate the Institute….wonder when that is going to happen….hmmm…
> 
> So concerning the revelation….so far it won't happen yet. But we are getting a bit close.
> 
> Anyways, please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and ready to answer any questions you might have.
> 
> See you all next time, and Merry Christmas :)


	31. The Truth Comes Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fam, so here we are with another chapter of Ultimate Lied. This time it will be a revelation where Ben and his family come out and reveal themselves to the rest of the residents of Maple Inn. And also we will be visited by an old familiar face and more revelations will go downwards….. What will the reactions be? Let’s find out.
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

_ Maple Inn _

Ben and the others stared at Kouta and the others at the entrance to the dining room. The boy and the three girls looked shocked at the destruction, Ben and the others looked nervous as well, he didn't think that there was going to be a way to talk out of this mess.

“Kouta, list-” Ben tried to explain, but Kouta stopped him and gave him a hard look.

“Listen Ben….today has been a very hard day for us….that women we met at the University had Nyu hostage.” He said, making Ben shocked. “But we got her back. And now we come home...to find everything indestructive ruins.” As he said this, Gwen could feel that Kouta was a bit peeved and wanted to know something. “I want you to tell me...what happened, no lies…..the straight truth….” He said.

This made Ben and the others look at each other. Ben figured that it was bound to happen sooner or later...but now, it seems like it was now time to come forward and tell the entire truth to them all. Nana and Mayu both looked nervous, seeing the looks on Kouta’s face was one of anger and sternness, and they turned to face Ben and could see that he was nervous.

“Alright...we’ll explain everything.” Ben said with a heavy sigh. “Just….give me a few minutes, alright?” He said as he went to the kitchen to get some air. When he did, he went to the cabinet, got a glass, and poured some water into it, and drank it up. When he did, he was remembering what Kouta told him...about that woman they saw before...was that the woman in the glasses they saw the night of the professor's death?

“ _ This is bad… _ ” He thought with dread, they weren’t followed were they? Well, he would find out soon….but still, he was dreading about coming out to himself….he expected that this would happen..but he didn't think it would happen on a day like this. As soon as he tried to keep calm, he heard some footsteps and saw Mayu walk in with a worried look on her face.

“Big Brother?” She asked with worry. “Are you ok?” She asked him, Ben turned to face her and sighed a bit as he wiped his face a bit.

“I...I don't know squat. I mean...I kinda expected that this would happen at some point...but I am nervous that they might kick me out or something.” He said as he sighed. “I mean the only reason I didn't have a hard time explaining to you or Nana is that you both accept things easily. I feel like Yuka and the others might freak out at me or something, plus how often do people find out that they are living with a boy who is not only from another world, but can also transform into a bunch of alien heroes, huh?” He asked.

Mayu looked at him and then sighed a bit. “Well….that makes sense.” She said, but then she walked closer and grabbed his hand. “But no matter what….I’ll be here for you...you're my big brother after all, and Nana thinks the same.”

Ben looked at her and smiled as he then ruffled her head. “Thanks, Mayu.” He said as he then walked out of the kitchen with a nervous look on his face. Mayu saw him leave and got nervous herself.

“I hope Kouta and the others won’t be upset with him…” She thought with worry in her mind.

_ 5 minutes later…. _

Everyone sat down at the kitchen table. Kouta, Yuka, Nyu, Nana, Mayu, Nozomi, and Wanta all sat on one side of the dining room, and Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Max all sat on the other side. It was really silent for them all. The atmosphere was really tense, so tense that you could cut it with a knife. Nyu wanted to sit with Ben, but Kouta told her to stay where she was sitting. 

Ben noticed that the people on Kouta’s side had mixed reactions. Kouta had a stern look, Yuka had a look that was a mix of both concern and stern, and Nyu, Mayu, Nana, and Nozomi had looks of concern on their faces. 

“ _ Well...it’s either now or never. _ ” He thought with dread. “So...who wants to go first?” He asked.

“I do.” Kouta said with his arms crossed, he then sighed and stared at him softly. “Ben...for the past year and a half, you’ve been an awesome guy….but I have been….very suspicious about you. I mean we first meet you on the beach, then you tend to go out sometimes, and you often tell us that you lost the time, and then we find you, Nyu, and Nana all injured!” He then sighed again. “Look...I just want the truth…..just the honest truth, alright? Who are you?”

Ben looked at Kevin, Gwen, and Max and sighed. “Alright...we’ll tell you.” He sighed and looked at them seriously. “How much do you all know about the multiverse theory?” He asked, making some of Kouta’s group look a bit confused. “Well, that’s ok. Anyway...the truth is...I’m from another dimension.” He said.

When he said this, the reactions were kinda mixed, Kouta and Yuka thought he was crazy, and Nyu and Nozomi were a bit confused. Nana and Mayu are the only ones who didn't talk since they knew it.

Ben sighed. “I mean I am still from Earth, but I am from a totally different Earth than yours.” He said, but he could see that the others were still somewhat confused a bit.

“So….like what they show on sci-fi?” Yuka asked him.

Ben...really didn't know how to respond. “Well...yea...I guess…but let me explain. The reason why I have gone away...was to keep an eye and go help people...with this.” He said as he then held up his arm and took his sleeves down and showed them his watch. 

Your...watch?” Nozomi asked him. 

Ben sighed a bit. “Well...ok, this seems like some ordinary watch...but it isn’t” He said to them all. “This watch allows me to transform into different aliens….like...a lot of them.” He said to them, their faces were a mix of disbelief, Ben could tell that they didn't believe him and he sighed.

“I figured you wouldn't believe me...so let me demonstrate.” He said as he then activated his Omnitrix, much to the others' shock. “ _ I gotta choose one that won’t destroy the place….and one that won't scare them to oblivion. _ ” He thought as he sorted through. “Hmm...here we go.” He said as he then pressed down on the dial and was engulfed in bright green light. When the light went away he was in the form of Spidermonley. “This is one of my aliens, Spidermonkley.” He said.

As soon as he transformed, Kouta and a few others (except Nana and Mayu) freaked out a bit.

“W-what the hell?” Kouta said in a freaked out tone of voice. Yuka and Nozomi were both shaking with fright, Nozomi was so nervous she actually went her own diaper a bit. Nyu...well Nyu just simply crawled a bit close to him, making the Arachnichimp nervous a bit...but she then picked him up and hugged him tightly.

“You look so adorable Ben!” She said with a smile as she hugged the monkey tightly, making him gasp for air.

Kevin was snickering a bit at the sight. “ _ Makes me wonder how she would react if she saw that fairy form of his. _ ” He thought. Gwen was also smirking a bit and Max was laughing a bit.

Spindermonkey was trying to gasp for air, but jeez, Nyu’s strength was strong. “Nyu…*gaps* need….*gasps* air….” He wheezed. Nyu then finally let the alien go, and made him cough a bit.

“I’m sorry…” She said with a face of embarrassment. Spindermonkey then pressed the dial on his chest and turned back into Ben.

Kouta was shocked, so this is why Ben ran off all the time. But something else went on his mind….that night….at Enoshima….that red thing…! “So….that night at Enoshima.” Kouta said with shock. “That big red Ultraman guy...that was you?” 

Ben gave a small smile. “Yeah, well I call him Way Big'' He said, rubbing his head with some embarrassment. At this point, the residents didn't know what to say, so Ben’s friend went next.

“I am just like him.” Kevin said. “Well not really an alien, but I am what they call an Osmosian. Osmosians are humans who have unique genetic components in their DNA that allows them to gain some interesting powers.” He then explains that his abilities allowed him to absorb things like energy and matter. He then demonstrated by touching some silverware and his whole body turned into metal as well, this spooked and shocked the residents as well.

Then Gwen went on to explain. “I am a genetic human, but is actually a humanoid called an Anodite.” She then explained that she got her powers from her grandmother, who was an Anodtie, who are basically energy alien species. She showed them her mana powers and some of her spells. “I can shoot projectiles, form shields, and have some spells too.”

“You’re not very good at them though.” Kevin said, causing her to elbow him, making him groan a bit.

“Anyway, ignoring my idiot boyfriend, I am skilled in martial arts as well...so yea.” She said with a smile.

Max was up next. “Well, I’m not as powerful as these youngsters, but in my youth, I was a member of the Plumbers. Now I know you think that they are the ones who take care of your sinks and that, but these Plumbers are different. The Plumbers of our world are a group of intergalactic law enforcement organizations that protects other planets in the universe.” He said. “I know it's a lot to take in….but it's all true.” He said to them.

Ben could see that the members were still trying to take it all in, and it was pretty hard, because this all...it sounded crazy to them.

“Ok….you’re from a different….dimension or something.” Kouta said, trying to take it all in. “So...how did you get your...thing?” He asked Ben. And so Ben began to explain his adventures from when he was ten. And he also went on to detail about fighting off villains such as Vilgax, the Forever Knights. And he also explained his adventures from a year ago about finding his grandfather, fighting and saving the Highbreed, fighting Vilgax again, taking on Eon, and saving the universe. 

And that is pretty much my story.” Ben said to them all. The residents were all...seriously trying to take this all in as best as they could. But it just sounded so...so….odd to them all. Ben sighed and looked at them .”You want to know why I didn't tell you guys? I was nervous…..I was nervous that none of you would believe me and find me crazy, I know I have been with you all for almost half a year…..but I was just so nervous.”

At that point. Mayu and Nana both went right over and stared at their housemates. “We’re the only ones who knew about it.” Nana said to them.

“Wait, what?” Kouta asked in a shocked tone of voice. Seriously? They kept this from the rest of them. Kouta was not too happy about it at all. Yuka could see a bit of anger in his eyes and told him to stop and let her take over.

“Why didn't you tell us?” She asked them in a calm tone of voice. The two girls sighed.

“Ben….he practically saved us.” Mayu said to them all, making some of them a bit confused.

“What do you mean by that Mayu?” Yuka asked her, and it made Mayu tremble a bit. For almost half a year, the only ones who knew of her being….touched by her stepfather and abandoned by her mother, were Ben, Nana, and Ben's family...and now...it seems like it was time to come forward as well.

“I…I was touched…” Mayu said in a trembled voice. “By my stepfather…” She said as she was beginning to tremble a bit at the memories it brought her, but she was calmed down a bit by Nana, who held her hand. The other residents of Maple Inn were shocked by what she said, and Kouta was going to ask about it until Mayu stopped him.

“Let me explain….you see….my father died many years ago. And so my mother married someone else…..but he…..he…” She said, struggling to get the words out. The memories coming back to her and making her tremble some more as her body began to shake a bit. At this point, yuka can see what she meant and quickly went over to hug her.

“Shh,” she said in a soothing voice. “You don't need to finish up if you don't want to.” She said to her. “I...think I know what you are meaning by that.” She said as Mayu begna to cry softly into Yuka’s shoulder.

Kouta also felt the same. He might be clueless at times, but he knew what she was talking about. “Mayu.” He said softly. “Is that why….you ran away?” He asked her, Mayu looked up from Yuka and nodded her head.

“I told Mama….but she wouldn't listen….she got mad at me...for taking him away from her.” She said, this made everyone present shocked and horrified.

“ _ Why….. _ ” Nozomi thought as a tear went down her face. “ _ Why would someone do that to their own child? _ ” She thought as she began tearing up a bit, and Nyu did pretty much the same.

Mayu calmed down a bit before gulping hard. “And so yes...that’s why I ran away….and then one day...I met Wanta and we have been inseparable since then.”

“And that’s...that’s how we met you that day….when you returned our umbrella…” Kouta said to her softly. He then stood up, went over to her and patted her head. “Mayu...I didn’t ….I didn’t know.” He said to her.

Mayu sniffled up as she looked at him. “It’s ok...the memories of it still haunt me alot...but...I’m glad I’m here now.” she said as she wiped her eyes away. “Because I met all of you….you have all become such a joy to have in my life….because of you all...my life has been better than ever.” She said with a smile. 

When she said this, Yuka herself then began to shed some tears and hugged the younger girl again, Mayu crying softly into her chest and Kouta, Nyu, and everyone else joined in as well. Mayu then smiled softly as more tears fell from her eyes. She felt at home with everyone there. As the hug was still continuing, Ben took a glance over at Nana, who also looked a bit troubled or something...what was going on?

“If Mayu told us what happened...maybe I should as well…” The honored girl said with solemness. “It would only be fair.” She said, before getting everyone's attention. “I have to say something as well.” She said to them all…”I haven't been truthful either….you all know by horns right? Well...you see…” She said, as she was nervous to talk. But then she saw that Mayu had come over and grabbed her hand and rubbed it gently and gave a calm soothing smile, showing that she was right there for her.

Nana then saw Ben and his family give her supporting smiles on their faces. She looked at them, and back at Mayu and felt more calm, knowing that she had not only the girl she considered a sister, but also her big brother with her as well. “You want to know about my horns?” she asked, this led to some of them nodding their heads. “Well...I’m not human at all...I’m a Diclonius.” She explained. “You see, when kids with horns are born….we are taken to this...facility on an island someplace far away...and the people there….they perform horrible experiments on us all.” She said as she looked down in shame.

“ _ So that’s why they were trying to capture Nyu! _ ” Kouta thought, remembering his encounter with the soldiers that night. Then he thought of something, a brief flashback occured to where she saw a little girl in a hat….then it turned to seeing bold….and the heads of two people….he then groaned a bit in pain and held his head. “What The hell is going on with me?” He thought. “ _ For the past year and a half..I have been having these thoughts….somethings wrong here…. _ ” but now was not the time and place, he now had to get back to the current issues.

Nana then explained further. “You see...my papa...he was one of the many people working at the facility….he is basically..the only one who treated me with kindness and decency.” She said with some tears in her eyes. “The others….the would shoot stuff at me, canons…..bullets...you name it.” She said as he then felt her stomach. Of course she used her vectors to dodge all of the heavy stuff, but there have been certain points where she had been hit and it hurt like hell.

Yuka immediately ran over and hugged her. “How cruel…” She said in a shocked tone of voice. How could they...do that to such a sweet girl like Nana? She then turned a glance over at Nyu, who also had a silent look on her face as well….something was troubling her..and it might have had something to do with all of this, but she would ask Ben later….

Nana then began to further explain. “You see...one day...I was let out to go and find...somebody…” She said as she then took a glance at Nyu with a small glare, and she sent a small look over at Ben and Mayu who looked a bit nervous. “And I was hurt very badly there….but Ben….he fixed me.” She said to them.

“If you don't mind asking...how did you get hurt?” Kouta asked her.

Nana sighed a bit and explained that she got her arms cut off, but Ben turned into something and restored her arms back to normal. This brought shock to everyone. (sans Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Max) They all look at Ben with widened eyes. 

“ _ What is he? _ ” they all thought with shock.

“Anyway..afterwards, Papa took me back to the facility, and made sure I Was alright...but then he sent me away in order to go and live freely, saying that he would come back for me someday….but then that was when I met all of you...and ever since...you have all made me very happy.” she said as a tear began going down her face. This made Yuka tear up as well and hug her.

“And we're happy to have you with us….we won't let anyone take you away...we promise.” She said with a smile on her face, and Kouta went up with Yuka and patted Nana on the head as well.

Ben saw this and smiled big as he saw them simply go along with it. He then took notice of Nyu shuffling a bit and got concerned. “Nyu?” He asked. “Are you ok?” He asked, this led to the horned girl look at everyone and shuffle a bit.

“Oh...uh….no..” She said with nervousness, she then sighed a bit and looked at Nana. “Nana….if what you say is true….and since I got horns….does that mean….I’m from that awful place as well?” She asked.

Nana could tell that she looked nervous, and she didn't blame her at all for it either. “Y...yes..you are.” She said to her, and it made Nyu look shocked.

“But...but why? What did I do? I’m a good girl! I really am!” she said, why would she be put in a horrible place like that, but then Ben went up to her and grabbed her for a hug, making Nyu stop with the freaking out and feeling much….calmer a bit. 

“We know that Nyu….you don't have to be afraid, we won’t let them take you away for us.” Ben said in a soothing voice, this made Nyu look at him with her eyes all glossy and she buried her face into his shoulder and calmed down a bit.

Kouta saw that and he gritted his fist a bit, why...what was he feeling like this? And why was Nyu giving Ben so much attention? He liked her first….so why? He then turned to Nana and looked a bit. “Nana,” He said to her. “Would you be willing...to tell us a bit about Nyu? I mean if you are from that place...then you should know a thing or two.”

Nana looked at him and felt a bit nervous. She did hear about her from Ben, and it made her a bit nervous a bit. She wanted to tell them...but she didn't know how they would react.

“Kouta….let me explain.” Ben said to them all as everyone looked at him. “I know you want to find out, but let me explain ok.” He said, and then Kouta sighed and allowed it and everyone began to sit down again, but Nyu sat by Ben the whole time and wrapped her arm around his own.

The tension was really up in the air right now, it was so tense that you could get a knife and cut it like butter. Ben was sweating a bit nervously now. How would they react? What would they say? It was now or never….

“Listen...Nyu is...well A Diclonius, like Nana...but she is….different for the others.” He said to them all, making Kouta and the other look confused. “Nyu,” He said to her. “In your mind, have you ever….heard or seen anything?” 

Nyu looked at him and up in thought. “Well...I do sometimes hear two voices…..but it sounds like they argue sometimes…” She said to him with anxiousness and curiosity.

This made Ben think. “ _ So Lucy and the voice are arguing...most likely about what happened at Enoshima….hopefully Lucy won’t fall for any bullshit. _ ” He thought with massive hope. He sighed as he then began to explain. “Listen...you all might want to sit and get ready...because this is going to be a long story.” He said as Kouta and the others sat down, this was going to be long.

Ben looked over at Nyu to see how nervous she was, and he couldn't blame her in the slightest...this was not going to be easy to explain to them all…. “Ok….so remember that night that Nyu was sick due to Nana...well...attacking her?” He asked, making the others nod their heads. “Well...that night when he brought her to her room, and she was running her fever, I turned into one of my alines named Pesky Dust, he can go into people’s dreams...anyway….you see...I went inside her mind and she had a nightmare….her childhood….was not pretty at all.”

“But….how does that explain where she came from?” Yuka asked him.

“I’ll be getting to that soon.” Ben said to her. “Now...I don't know much about her real parents and all that….but she was raised inside an orphanage….in there..she was treated like crap from everyone, no one wanted to deal with her, she was bullied by…..three boys who made her feel bad because of her horns and shit like that.” He said it felt difficult because he really didn’t want to tell them about….the dog’s death….but he would have to. “So one day….she found a small dog and they had fun together….but then the bullies discovered the dog one day….and they…..they….” He began to tremble a bit and stutter, the memory he saw was coming back to him and he was beginning to tear up a bit.

Those who were looking at him were a bit concerned and confused, what happened that made him cry and tremble like that?

“ _ Ben…? _ ” Nyu thought with worry as she then grabbed Ben's hand and caressed it a bit, he then looked at Nyu a bit...and while he should smile, he could still see the face of a young girl who had a shit life...and it made him tear up even more.

“The bullies…..they held the dog down….grabbed a vase….and beat it to death!” He said, the words very much choking him up a bit. The memory of seeing such a horrific act coming back to him. When he said this, everyone was horrified at hearing such an act. Kouta, Kevin, and Max were gripping their hands in anger at the thought of it, and the girls had tears in their eyes.

“ _ How could anyone…. _ ” Nozomi thought. “ _ Be so heartless and cruel! _ ” she thought with sadness.

Nyu herself was trembling a bit…not just because of feeling upset or angry...but of something else. She couldn't explain it, but she could somehow remember seeing it happen, but it made her groan a bit in her mind….what was going on?

Nyu?” Ben asked her concerningly, and everyone else looked on with the same concern. “Are you ok?” He asked.

“Y-yes….it's just….I feel something.” She said, then she then began to feel her eyes get a bit heavy. “I feel….sleepy…” She said as she then felt forward a bit, but Ben caught her just in time and gently laid her down.

Everyone looked concerned a bit. But Ben thought of something, “ _ If Nyu is asleep...thank maybe….Lucy could come out and reveal it to everyone… _ ” He thought. He was hoping...just hoping that if Lucy wefe to reveal everything...then things could work out somewhat.

“Nyu!” Kouta said with worry as he and the others went over to her and looked at her with concern on their faces. But Ben looked at them and reassured them all to keep quiet. “But Ben, she just passed out, what are you-”

“Just listen to me.” Ben said to them all with seriousness in his voice, and it made them all look at him. “I know what I’m doing here.” He said to them all with sternness in his voice. Yuka was about to protest, but Mayu stopped him.

“Big Brother knows what he’s doing.” She said to her. Yuka wanted to argue some more, but Nozomi stopped her. Then they all heard some groaning and looked down to see Nyu groaning a bit, she then slowly opened her eyes and looked to see everyone.

“ _ Ben….. _ ” She thought with a voice, and when she looked at Kouta, her eyes opened wider. “Kouta…” She said in a low soft voice. Ben realized that Nyu was asleep, and Lucy….had reawoken.

( _ Eyecatch featuring Ben standing in the middle as he holds the nads of both Nyu and Lucy. _ )

* * *

( _ Eyecatch featuring Kouta and Yuka standing back-to-back. _ )

Lucy had reawoken..for the first time in half a year. Now normally, she would panic and start killing, but she didn't. Because she was surrounded by a bunch of people who she was familiar with during her time as Nyu.

“Kouta…” she groaned a bit as she then got up slowly.

“Nyu, are you ok?” Kouta asked with concern in his voice as he and Yuka helped her up a bit. “Are you hurt?”

As Lucy looked at him, she then began to receive some flashbacks from her childhood, that day...that special day with him and her at the zoo coming back to her...but then something else came up….an image that had two figures...one man, and one small child. Lucy then began to pour tears out of her eyes. “Kouta….I can’t.” She said as she ran from him and the others.

“Nyu!” Kouta exclaimed, what was wrong? Did he say something? He was going to go right after her, but was stopped by Ben.

“Kouta...let me go talk to her, alright?” Ben said to him. Of course he was not very...ok with Kouta talking to her, not out of jealousy, but due to Kouta lying to her those years ago, as it was a main reason as to why Lucy went crazy….

Kouta...he was not happy though….as then...he turned around...and

**BAM**

He gave a solid punch right to Ben’s face, making the boy go flying back a bit into the wall a bit, and making others gasp a bit.

“KOUTA!!” Yuka exclaimed he grabbed him. “What the hell?” She said with anger. Gwen, Mayu, and Nana ran over to check on him and Kevin was about to give Kouta a piece of his mind, but Max stopped him, but the older man was not too happy about his grandson being punched.

Kouta ignored her though and angrily glared at Ben. “Why….” He said slowly. “WHY THE HELL IS SHE SO INTERESTED IN YOU?” He yelled to Ben, who got up a bit and wiped the blood going down his nose. “What is it about you that makes Nyu hold onto your arm, your hand, hug you, etc?” He asked. Ben was about to tell him but Kouta stopped him. “And don’t try to talk out of it...I saw her kiss you the previous night!”

Yuka then looked at Ben with surprise and went back to Kouta, is what he said true? Did Ben...and Yuka...kiss? Does that mean….they are going out? Yuka was internally screaming with joy, now Nyu could not be a thorn in her side for Kouta’s affection. But then then quickly shook her head, this was not the time to think about it now, she had to get everyone to calm down.

Ben got up and breathed calmly. “Listen Kouta….we can't be talking about-”

“SHUT UP!!” He yelled at him. “All this time you have been keeping secrets from us! And now…..all of this stuff.” He said as he was breathing a bit. “Different dimensions….aliens….institutions? Like this is so much to take in!” He exclaimed as he then ran off someplace in the house, ignoring Yuka’s calls to come back.

“I swear…” Yuka said with annoyance as she went to Ben. “Are you ok, Ben?” She asked with concern. “Let me go get you a towel to wipe off the blood.” She said as she then ran to the kitchen for a bit. As she was in there, Ben was looking in the direction where Lucy had run off to.

“ _ Lucy… _ ” He thought with concern in his voice. Then Yuka ran back in and offered him a towel, which he thanked her for and he used it to wipe his nose. “Thanks Yuka...I’m gonna go try to get Lu-Nyu.” He said, quickly correcting his wording. “You go tryo to get Kouta.” He said.

“Wait, are you sure?” She asked him, and Ben nodded his head in agreement as he walked to the door, where he noticed Lucy running out to the garden area.

_ Meanwhile…. _

Lucy was now sitting outside in the garden area by the fountain. She looked downward a bit and also looked up in the sky. “ _ Can I even face Kouta? For what I did? _ ” She thought with sadness. But she was also nervous to see Ben and Nana….she almost killed them both...no….the voice almost killed them….she didn't feel like she deserved to see them. She looked down again as tears went down her face.

“Lucy…” She looked up to see Ben coming towards her with a small smile. “Haven't seen you in a while….almost half-a-year.” He said with an attempt to make a joke, but Lucy’s frown made it seem like she wasn't happy about it. “Right….sorry.” He said.

“Why…” She asked him, making him look at her with a confused look. “Why are you bothering with me?” She asked him again, this time she was a bit angry at him, her pink eyes looking a bit red from the crying a bit earlier. “I ALMOST KILLED YOU AND NANA!! YOU SUFFERED INJURIES BECAUSE OF ME!! SO WHY ARE YOU STILL BOTHERING WITH ME?!” She yelled loudly. Ben just stood there with a calm expression on his face, Lucy then took a deep breath and looked down. “Why are you bothering with me….I’m nothing but a murderer...and a monster….I don’t deserve to-” But she was stopped by Ben. who hugged her, much to her surprise.

“You know why I am bothering with you?” He asked her gently. “Because I don't see you as a monster...sure you killed people, but we both know that you were in your darkest times and the voice was manipulating you...and also I believe that the voice controlled you at certain points as well.” He said as he rubbed her back gently. “I am not going to give up on you Lucy….not till the voice is out of your head…” He said to her.

Lucy….well Lucy was just standing there in shock, why….why was he so nice to her? But his kindness….it was breathtaking….and she felt butterflies in her stomach, but at the same time...she still had some feelings for Kouta as well…She just buried her head into his shoulder and cried a bit as she hugged him back.

After a few minutes, the hug got broken up by Lucy. “Ben….I need to reveal you something.” she said to him. “About what happened to Kouta’s family in the past.” She said, making him look at her with confusion.

Meanwhile, Yuka was trying to talk some sense into Kouta. Both were in Kouta’s room. sitting on his futon. “What the hell was that all about Kouta?” she asked him with some anger. “Why would you attack Ben out of the blue like that?” She asked him, but Kouta didn't answer her. “What, not good enough to talk to me?” She asked, now a bit more angry. But when Kouta ignored her again, Yuka wanted to scream and hit him...but she didn’t, she just breathed in and out and looked at him gently. “Is it about Nyu and Ben?” she asked, now a bit more calmer.

Her question finally made Kouta speak to her, but it began with a sigh as he nodded. “Yes,” He said to her. “It’s just…something is going on with me about Nyu, you know?” He asked. “It’s like….I have been developing feelings for her….and I see her mainly be around Ben, and it….I guess I just got so mad that I lost control.” He said as he sighed a bit.

Yuka looked at him and away for a moment, she was afraid that Kouta would have feelings for Nyu...but still she wasn't happy at him taking it out on Ben though.

“Plus....there’s something else.” He said to her. “I can't explain it...but I feel like I met her before….like before we found her on the beach.”

“Really?” Yuk asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Kouta nodded his head. “Yea, but when I try or think about it...I get this weird pain in my head...it’s almost as if my mind doesn't want me to remember or something.” When he said that, Yuka widened her eyes a bit as she turned away and thought of something.

“ _ Could it be that….it has something to do with our day at the festival? _ ” She thought to herself a bit. 

Downstairs, Gwen and Kevin were beginning to clean up the place a bit from the mess made earlier, with the others helping out.

“I wonder what made Kouta do something like that.” Nozomi said as she still shook a bit from what happened. And the others wondered too….well...not Mayu and Gwen, they had a good feeling as to why Kouta punched him as he did.

“Well,” Gwen started. “We should wait till they all get back, and they can explain or two. Hopefully, Yuka will talk some sense into that idiot.” She said with annoyance, not really liking how Kouta hit her cousin.

Nozomi was still trying to process a lot of stuff that was revealed to her today. Different dimensions...institutions...it was a lot to take in. But still, she owed Ben since he went with her to her fathers. “ _ I don't care where he is from. _ ” Nozomi thought. “ _ He is very nice...and if he says he is a hero, then I believe him...at least...he’s a hero to me. _ ” She thought with a small smile.

“Well, hopefully, once everyone comes back, we can all calm down and talk it over.” Max said as he helped sweep a bit of the debris.

“Uh...Mr. Tennyson?” Nozomi asked him. “All that stuff Ben said...is it true?” She asked him. “Did he….really become a hero at the age of 10?” She asked him. Max smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

“Yes, he did.” He said. “And yea he was a bit brash, but he was still a nice kid.” He said to her.

“Wow...so amazing.” Nozomi said with astonishing eyes.

Back outside, Ben and Lucy were still together, Lucy was crying into her hands and Ben was just looking at her with a solemn expression.

“I didn't mean to do it!” She cried. “I was so mad at him….and that voice tempted me...and I fell for it.” She cried. “I regret it almost everyday….I can’t face Kouta again...not like that!” She cried into her hands. She told Ben about what happened at the festival, after accepting the voice, she began killing people at the festival, and she followed Kouta and his family to a train and when she got there she killed off his sister and his father and was going to go after Yuka, but then he yelled at her to stop it.

“Every single day...I regretted it so much,” Lucy said. “The voice...she would tell me that he deserved it for lying to me….but I know that I went too far when I did it….” She then wiped her eyes and turned around for him. “And you must hate me too for doing such a thing.”

“Lucy-”

“WHAT?!” She yelled at him. “I TOLD YOU ABOUT WHY I CAN'T FACE HIM, AND YOU STILL WANT TO HELP ME WHY?” She asked, now heated up. “YOU TELL ME, WHY?!”

“BECAUSE I KNOW IT WASN'T ALL YOUR FAULT!!” Ben yelled as he grabbed Lucy and held her, he didn't get tight with her but he had a firm grasp on her shoulder to prevent her from leaving. “You need to remember that you felt discriminated against, and that voice in your head was taking advantage of you, and you feel regret for it. If you didn't feel any regret for the killings you committed, then we would have a problem.” He said. He breathed and looked at her again. “Do you regret it? Killing them all? Including Kouta’s family?” He asked.

Lucy looked at him and then down again. “For...the longest time, I only felt regret for what I did to Kouta. For the longest time, a part of me regretted it, and another part of me felt they all deserved it...and now...I see the clear picture, I feel so bad for what I've done….but…” She then put her hands to her face. “It might be too late for me.”

Ben then took her hands away from her face and held them gently in his own. “Lucy...I believe in second chances, I believe that only a few certain people can get second chances. You know the big guy in there Kevin? He was a punk when we were young. He even tried to kill me at certain points.” He said, making Lucy look surprised. “But many years later, he has since mellowed out, and now, I and him are best friends. The only thing is...are you willing to seek redemption?” He asked.

Lucy looked at him and sniffed a bit as she wiped some tears. “Yes...yes, I do.” she said. “But what about the voice in my head? She despises you...and she won't stop at nothing till she takes control of me and tries to kill you.”

Ben sighed. “Then we fight.” He said. “I already know a few people from my world are going to build something that will let me get in your head, and once I do...then I’ll make sure that voice is never seen again.” He said with determination. This made Lucy look up at him with widened eyes, he seems to be dead serious on this. 

“ _ Ben… _ ” she thought as she felt her face blush up a storm. All the feelings she had had still been very conflicting for her. But who could she choose? Sure Nyu already chose Ben, but what about Lucy? Who would she like? Kouta? Or Ben? It was so hard, but she still couldn't stop blushing a bit at him though.

But she then shook her head, now was not the time to think about those particular feelings now….now she had to think about who she was going to confess everything that had happened to Kouta….

“I’m nervous that he won't forgive me for what I have done…” Lucy said with some concern in her voice. Ben sighed and patted her on the shoulder.

“Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. We just need to see….” Ben said, but frankly he was thinking that Kouta might not though...only time will tell.

_ 20 seconds later….. _

Everyone had all gathered together in the dining room area again. This time the place was a bit more tense than it was before.

Lucy looked at all of them and had some shame, when she looked at Yuka, she had a somewhat annoyed look, but did not want to do anything as of now. But when she took a glance at Kouta….she felt shame coming up in her.

“Listen...all of you...I want to explain...about what happened at the orphanage.” She said, and she went on to explain it to them, making them all shocked.

“Nyu...you killed them?” Yuka said with shock.

Lucy sighed a bit. “Yes..I did. I know you all might hate me for it...but those kids...there deathes..they are the only ones I don’t regret killing….because they killed my puppy, my puppy who didn't even do anything to get involved.” She said with her fist shaking up a bit. The memories of her puppy getting killed coming back to her mind, and it made some of them tremble a bit at her. Lucy then wiped a tear that went down her face and faced Kouta. “And then that day...I met you...remember that day? Kouta?” She asked him.

At first, Kouta didn't know what she was talking about, but as soon as she asked about that day they met, he then widened his eyes and felt more pain going into his head. He groaned a bit before clutching it tightly. Something was going on with him, something in his brain was trying to spark something in him.

“Kouta?” Yuka said with concern. Kouta immediately groaned a bit as he held onto his head, and he began seeing some visions, visions of his past, visions of things...he doesn't remember. And it was hurting him alot. He groaned even more as everyone present was getting a bit worried for him.

“Kouta?” Lucy asked with hesitation, Kouta groaned some more as he began to remember something...something dreadful on a bad night...

* * *

_ Kouta’s Mind/Festival _

A younger Kouta was with a younger Yuka at the festival. Yuka was also hugging Kouta as she was also crying, making the boy look confused a bit.

“Wh-can you stop?” He asked with some hesitation. “People are looking at us!” 

Yuka however sniffled a bit. “But it’s not fair!” She cried. “We won't be able to see each other for so long.” As he cried, Kouta then looked around.

“ _ Why do I get the feeling that girl is here? _ ” He thought as he then looked at Yuka and began to pet her head. “Hey now, you’re not a little kid. Stop crying.” He said softly, making her and her head and green and they began to walk together a bit, with Yuka having her arm wrapped around Kouta’s. He then took a look around and wondered where his little sister Kanae went too, with Yuka commenting that she hopes that she isn’t lost. But then they heard some noises and looked behind, there they saw a bunch of people running up ahead and running past them.

“What’s going on?” Yuka asked with nervousness, and Kouta looked a bit bewildered at the sight, what was going on? Then they heard someone coming up to them and turned those who it was. It was a man who was wearing a pink shirt and brown pants, this was Kouta’s father and Yuka’s uncle. “Uncle…” She said with relief.

“Thank god you’re both alright.” Kouta’s father said as he knelt down and patted his son on the shoulders. “Do you know where Kanae is at?” He asked them.

“W-wait, what happened?” Kouta asked him, but his father was persistent on where Kanae was at. “We don't know, we got separated from her.”

This made his father freak out. “Separated? Damn...we gotta find her!” He said.

“Wait Dad, what happened?” Kouta asked him.

“They say that a bomb exploded down the street.” Kouta’s father said, making Kouta and Yuka gasp a bit at him. A bomb? Here? This was scary…

“Kouta! Papa!” they all turned to see that a little girl was standing by one of the stands, she was of small satire, had a similar hairstyle like Mayu’s with a red bow in it, she had on a yellow shirt and a blue skirt ad was holding a stuffed bunny, and she had a bit of blood on her face.

“Kanae!” Kouta called out as he and the others went to her fast, l concerned for her.

“Are you alright, Kanae?” Yuka asked the younger girl with concern. After they all gathered around her, Kouta;s father hugged Kanae gently and was happy to see her alive, Yuka mentioned the blood on her.

“Kanae, are you alright?” Kanae's father asked. “Are you hurt?” He asked as he took a notice of the blood and began checking ehr for any injuries, luckily for him, there weren't any. 

“A Lot of...people got killed!” Kanae said with a shocked and scared voice.

“People got killed?” Kouta asked with shock, but Kanae didn't answer him, she was busy hugging her father and looking very traumatized by what she saw.

“I saw it...I saw it all!” Kanae said with anxiety, making her father grab her and pick her up.

“You’re safe now, let's just go home, alright?” He said to her. As they were standing, Kouta looked at his sister with worry.

“ _ Kanae...what did you see? _ ” He thought.

* * *

_ Enoshima Electric Railway/Gokurakuji Station _

Kouta and his family were now at the station about to take off. Yuka was there to bid them all goodbye, and she wasn't happy at all.

“Kouta,” Yuka said. “Please promise to come back next year.” She said. “Please don't forget about me, promise?” She asked him with a worried voice.

Kouta, who was blushing a bit, smiled at her. “Well of course I’ll come back next year, I like you..”

This made Yuka shed some tears in her eyes. “Good, you better not forget about me...I’ll keep waiting...as long as it takes."

**BOP**

Kanae ran and kicked Yuka in the leg, making her wince and Kouta to look surprised.

“Kanae!” Kouta said with surprise. The young gier then ran back to wrap her arms around her older brother, looking fiercely protective.

Yuka however brushed it off and looked on. “You are a good girl, ok, Kanae?” She asked, making the girl stick her tongue out at her, making her shocked.

“Kanae, will you stop?” Kouta said to her, but his father then told them tos stop as the train had arrived. As they were leaving, Kouta looked around for that girl he met...but she did not come, much to his own disappointment. “ _ I guess she isn't coming after all...that’s a shame. _ ” He thought with sadness. 

“Kouta!” his father called from the train, making Kouta snap out of his train of thought and board the train. Once he did, the train started to move. He looked up at the window and saw that Yuka had run to a bridge and waved goodbye to him, and he waved back at her. Once he was out of sight he closed the window and sat back down in his seat.

“ _ It’s still a shame that that one girl didn't show up… _ ” He thought. “ _ Well..hopefully I’ll get to see her next year. _ ” He then looked towards Kanae, who was looking at him with a short glare. “Kanae? What is it?” He asked her.

That was then she then immediately began accosting him. “You’re a dummy Kouta!” She said, making him gasp a bit at her. “A big, fat, dummy. People like you should be killed by the girl with the horns!”

This made Kouta really upset and a bit defensive. “What did you just say?” He asked with an angry tone of voice. He didn't like how she was yelling at him.

“I saw her at the festival!” Kanae said to him. “A girl with horns killed those people just like that, she chopped them all up into pieces!” 

This is when Kputa angrily jumped from his seat. “Stop acting crazy and shut up! There’s no way that happened! Dad said that it was a bomb!” Kanae got her seat as well.

“It wasn’t a bomb at all, it was a girl, I know what I saw!” As she said this, her face was becoming a bit red as she tried to hold back her tears, why wasn't he believing her? He was her big brother after all!

This made Kouta even more angry. “You know, I don't like little brats who lie.” He said with anger. Why would she make up such an excuse like that? If his dad said it was a bomb, then it was a bomb! Besides...she mentioned a girl with horns, and he..will..he wouldn't even believe that his friend would do such a thing….right?

That was then Kanae ran to the other side of the train in anger and looked back at her older brother. “You dummy!” She said to Kouta again. “You're just a big dummy!”

“Knock it off you two.” Kouta’s father said to them sharply. But Kanae ignored her father and kept on looking at Kouta.

“I don't care if you believe me or not, but a girl with horns killed all those people, it wasn't a bomb, it was her, all her! I swear it!” But then as she tried to tell him some more, she then felt something...something very chill, she turned around to come face-to-face with a girl who had pink hair, had a shirt on, a shirt, and shoes, and had cat ear-like horns out of her head. It was Lucy.

Once Kanae got a glimpse of her, she remembered seeing her as the one who killed those people and the very sight of her made her scared, her body was trembling a bit as she stepped back, but was stopped by Kouta who had walked up to her.

“What is it now, Kanae?” He asked her with annoyance as he then saw Lucy and gasp a bit before smiling. “Oh, it's you!” He said with a smile. “I didn't know you were on the train, when I didn't see you at the station, I began to wonder.” But Lucy…..she really didn't seem to respond to him, just silent.

“ _ That boy lied to you...you dont need him anymore. _ ” a familiar sinister voice in her head said in a soothing tone. But Lucy didn't respond.

“You’re a liar…” Lucy said to him, making him confused a bit. But then she glared at him as her vectors began to sprout out, she was aiming right for the kill. But then Kanae, in an act of courage, ran forward and pushed her down. Shocking Kouta.

Kanae then ran right up to her brother and began shaking him a bit. “Kouta! We have to get out of here!” She said with fright. “We have to get out of here before she kill-”

**SLAP**

Kanae held onto her stinging cheek, where her older brother slapped her. Kouta was not happy at all, he was not happy that his sister was making such accusations about his friend and he let her know. 

“What are you saying you idiot?” He said to her. “Apologize to my friend right now!” As he said this, Lucy got back up and stared angrily at the young girl. “And if you don't …..than I’ll hate you forever!” He snapped.

This led to Kanae nearly crying as tears began to run down her face. Why would her older brother say such a horrible thing to her? She is trying to protect him. “No...Kouta...please don't say you hate me!” She pleaded.

“ _ Kill her now child...he deserves it from lying to you. _ ” The voice said to Lucy. the young honored girl was a bit hesitant, but then...she did it..

**SLICE**

Using her vectors, Lucy slid up Kanae’s torso in half, leading to blood spraying up in the air and to get on Kouta as the girl then fell to the ground. Kouta’s anger was long forgotten as he then saw his sister's dead body on the ground. He was trembling and shaking a lot at the sight, seeing his sister, her face as tears and blood were on it.

It was a lot and he then grabbed his head and began to let out a blood curdling scream, a scream that made his dad get up and go over to what was happening. But as soon as he did, Lucy used her vectors to slice off his head and blood to spurt out as well. Kouta looked over and was even more shocked at what he saw as his father's head rolled over to him. 

“D-dad?” Kouta asked with shock. Kouta was now standing there, his sister and father’s dead bodies on the ground, blood all over the floor, and he too was covered in their blood. He was trembling all over the place as he saw it all...he didn't even scream anymore as he was just in very massive shock.

He then turned to Lucy. “Did...you do this?” He asked in a trembling voice as Lucy was just standing there in a pool of blood, looking at him with an emotionless glare. “WHY DID YOU DO THIS!!” He yelled at her in a trembled voice. “I thought we were friends!” He said to her, that was when Lucy looked up at him.

“What are you talking about?” She asked him. “We were friends, that’s why I didn't kill you.” She said to him.

“ _ You’re making a big mistake. _ ” The voice said to her in her mind. “ _ You should've just killed him! _ ” But Lucy ignored her. Lucy still looked at Kouta with a glare as the poor boy was still trembling with shock. 

“And now I will kill that stupid girl.” She said as he then walked away from him and the carnage. The voice told her to go back and kill Kouta, but she had ignored her.

Kouta, who was looking on and was trembling a lot heard what she said and got worried. “Wait..Yuka?” He asked with shock, was….Lucy planning on going after Yuka? But why? She didn't do anything! Kouta...despite trembling and shaking, wouldn't let it happen...he just couldn't. He then got up and ran right for Lucy and he tackled her and they went tumbling for a bit until Kouta finally got on top of her and grabbed her shoulders.

“Stop it! Stop it right now!” He said as he then grabbed her and salmled her back into the floor of the train. And he kept on repeating the words to stop it to her as tears ran down his face, many, many times. When Lucy saw what he was doing...her anger was gone and had a look of remorse….she realized that right then and there….she fucked up big time.

* * *

_ Maple Inn _

Kouta was still clutching his head as the memory came back to him...he finally remembered that night...the night of the festival. He then let go of his head and he breathed heavily and got up, much to Yuka's worry.

“Kouta?” Yuka asked with concern. He then got up and gently pressed her aside as he went right up to Lucy, his face hard as steel and Lucy herself looking a bit hesitant. 

“I remember now….you were that girl….that girl who I thought was my friend….the girl….who killed my sister and father.” He said with a trembling voice, everyone looked shocked but Lucy looked remorseful and Ben...he looked concerned..this was going to be hard to explain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it. The residents of Maple Inn finally get the truth about Ben and his family. And once Lucy reveals herself, Kouta remembers a memory from long ago. How will everyone take the new news? We'll have to wait and see.
> 
> So the longest chapter ever right? Lol, so originally, I wasn't going to include the scene of Kouta’s flashback, but I figured it was necessary for him to remember that one night. Next time we will see how he tries to handle it all. It might be shorter than this one, but I need to think it over.
> 
> Anyway, don't forget to read and review. I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	32. Revelation Pains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys and dolls, so we are here at what might be a very emotional chapter. So the last chapter ended on a cliffhanger, and now, we continue to where we last ended off at. Where Kouta finally regains his memories.
> 
> So what will happen? Will Kouta finally forgive Lucy? Will he reject her? Find out :)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

_Maple Inn_

Ben was a bit nervous as he saw Kouta giving Lucy a really hard glare. Like before, the tension was very high...Yuka could feel it as well, but she was even more confused by what he said.

"Kouta...what did you mean?" She asked him.

Kouta didn't look away from Lucy, but he didn't explain. "I remember now….Kanae and my dad...they didn't die in a car accident….she killed them both." He said as he glared at Lucy hard, and he was gripping his pant legs really hard. He wanted to do something…..but something else was holding him back a bit.

But this revelation shocked a majority of everyone, but Ben was a bit solemn, and Lucy looked mournful.

"Kouta, pleas-"

**SLAP**

Lucy grabbed the stinging part of her cheek where Kouta slapped her, this made others shocked as well...but Ben...

**POW**

That was when Kouta went flying back a bit after Ben punched him soiree in the face, Kouta grunted a bit and looked at Ben with a glare.

"How does it feel, asshole?" Ben asked him heatedly. Kouta immediately got up and wiped the blood from his nose and stared at the boy with anger, and before it looked like a fight was going to break out, Yuka immediately got in between them.

"Both of you, stop this!" she exclaimed. "We shouldn't be fighting like this!" She said with worry. Ben then got a bit irritated.

"Then you should teach your cousin that slapping people in the face will not solve problems!" He snapped. He wasn't trying to be rude to her, but he was a bit annoyed at the fact that Kouta keeps on hitting people, he did it with Nana, and now he did it to Lucy.

"Ben, calm down," Gwen said to him and turned to Kouta. "Kouta if you would just calm down and listen to what she has to-"

"I don't want to hear nothing!" He snapped. "She killed Kanae! She killed my father!" He said as he trembled a bit as a tear went down his face. "She is the reason…." He said with venom in his voice as he stared hatefully at Lucy.

Lucy was trembling a bit as he felt overwhelming guilt building up inside her, she expected this kind of reaction...she couldn't be here….she couldn't face him, but then she felt a firm pat on the shoulder, and saw that Kevin patted her on the shoulder and gave her a look as if to say 'stay here'

Lucy then gave a deep breath and tried to explain again. "Kouta...I know you hate me for what did….and I understand that you don't want to see me….but, please….let me explain….I beg of you….please." She begged him, her pink eyes pleading to him.

Kouta...now he was not in the mood, the memory still fresh in his mind, but he had to remember that Nyu was there as well...he then calmed down a bit, took a breather, and looked at her. "Fine…" He said as he went to go sit down, Yuka followed him, along with Mayu and Nana. Lucy looked at them and felt a bit nervous

"Lucy," She turned to see Ben looking at her with a comforting smile. "I am going to be right here for you….you explain to me what happened, and I believe you." He said.

"Same here," Gwen said as Kevin and Max nodded. "We heard about it from Paradox. And while you did kill them, we know it wasn't entirely your fault, that voice told you to do it...and Kouta lied to you as well. I'm not trying to pin the blame on him but...I mean we are still a bit conflicted but…"

"No...I understand." Lucy said with a sigh. "I mean….but if I only just kept myself calm that night...then maybe that voice wouldn't have told me to do it…." She said as she rubbed her face.

"Well, the past is past now," Max said to her. "Let's go explain everything to everyone else, and they might listen." He said as he patted her gently on the shoulder. Lucy looked up and smiled a bit.

"Ok….I'll try." the horned girl said with anxiousness, and they all went to follow the others.

_1 minute later…_.

They all sat in a part of the house that wasn't...damaged from the fight. And just like before, tensions were really high. Lucy was looking at Kouta, who sat across and had a hard look on his face. Yuka looked over at Kouta and had a look of solemnity and worry on her face.

"Ok…" Yuka began. "I don't know what is going on, but Kouta, why would you accuse Nyu of murdering Kanae and your father? She would never do such a thing." She said to him with a hurt tone of voice.

"She did kill them though!" He snapped a bit at her, "She was on the train that one night when we left….she murdered them." He said.

"Kouta, lis-"

"Yuka….he's right," Lucy said to her with solemness. "I killed Kouta's sister and his father as well." She said to her, this time she was more serious, but still feeling guilty. Yuka….she was just looking at Lucy, then at Kouta, and back at Nyu again...and he trembled.

"You...you did?" She asked with shock and horror, making Lucy nod. "But...why? Why did you do it?" She asked her.

"I want to know as well," Kouta said with some hate in his voice. Lucy gulped a bit nervously and began to explain.

"Listen….When Ben told you all...about my life at the orphanage..is all true." She said to them. "Those kids did treat me with cruelty, and they did kill my puppy...that was the day I murdered them...and their deaths...they're the only ones I don't regret." She said with son malice at mentioning the boys.

The others were a bit shocked at what she said, even out a lost some of his anger to be horrified by what those bullies did, but her killing them….a part of that made them all a bit conflicted...sorta.

"Anyway...do you remember Kouta? That was the day you met me?" She said to him. "You met me and befriended me, I didn't want anything to do with you...but you instead came to see me almost every day." She said to him.

Kouta then closed his eyes and he did remember...she was on her knees..right by that tree….he remembered it all, he looked up to her, his look softened, but still stern and hard.

"And we began to know each other and hang out while you were there this summer….but that when I...began killing more people." She said to them all, shocking them alot. "But I do have a good reason as to why I did it." She then took a deep breather and looked up again. "I...I have a voice inside my head…." She said, and everyone looked at her as if she was crazy but Nana...she looked away a bit.

"And I know what you are all going to say," Ben said to them. "But this isn't like any voice as if to say 'oh she is hearing voices in the head that means she is crazy.' No, this isn't like one of those, this is an entirely different voice...it's kind of...well...it's.."

"Wait!" Nana said to them, making everyone look over at her. "I think….I know what he's talking about." She said to them all. "I remember fighting someone...almost half a year ago….and I heard someone talking to me….telling me to kill...to kill, but I got hurt and the voice went away." This made others shocked at her by what she said, Mayu went over to hold the girl's hand with comfort.

Kouta looked at Lucy and his hard look remained, but it was softer...sorta. Then Lucy began to explain. "I remember her telling me to kill those people, she told me 'humans have no place' and things like 'they will never accept you.' And for a time...I hated them, but I didn't stop, because of her manipulating me to do it, and the more we hung out...it was amazing." Lucy said to Kouta. "Like our day at the zoo."

Kouta looked down as he remembered their time at the zoo together as kids. "Yea….I remember...you got excited about seeing the animals…" He said in a calm tone. "But continue."

"R-right," Lucy said. "Listen...that night..you told me about going to the festival with your cousin….and I asked you if your cousin were a boy or girl...and you said boy….you lied to me." Her tone wasn't that of malice, but sadness. That was when Kouta felt something inside him. "And I wanted to go see you at the festival to say bye...but then I saw you with Yuka. And that was then….the voice came back to me….and I fell for it because I was so upset by you lying to me...she conceived me that you never liked me...and being so scared and in my darkest hour...I fell into it." She said to him. "And that's why...I killed your sister and father...to make you pay...but after you slammed me into the train that night...I realized how much I fucked up big time…"

Kouta….he then widened his eyes at this….at first, he was so angry at her for killing his family...but now..it made sense...it made sense to him, and he got up a bit, making everyone look at him. "I...I need to go to the restroom for a moment…" He said as he then walked away from the rest of the group. Yuka went to go after him, but not before shooting Lucy a cold glare, a glare that made her angry for what she did and then went to go follow Kouta.

Everyone all looked at Lucy, who was looking down and was trembling up some more, the feelings of guilt and anguish swelling over her every being. Mayu then went up to Lucy, prompting the girl to look at her as tears went down her eyes.

"Is what you say true?" She asked Lucy. "This...voice in you...is it really not a psychological thing?" She asked her.

Lucy gulped and nodded her head. "Yes...for the longest time, it has been telling me to kill people...I know it was written, but her manipulations...I just kept on doing it...I wanted to stop, but she...she." Lucy still struggled to speak, but then she felt something...she looked down to see Mayu hugging her gently. "Wha-what are you doing?" She asked in a surprised tone of voice.

Mayu looked up at her as tears went down her eyes. "I never knew how hard your life was….you were bullied, and treated horribly...and you had no one else to turn to…." She said sadly.

"But...I killed people." Lucy said.

"But you were manipulated by...something," Nozomi said as she went over and held onto her hand gently. "I mean...this is so much to take in...but I believe you….and I know you feel so bad and sorry for whatever you have done…." She said. Lucy was shocked, She never imagined that people would understand and know how she was treated as….she looked over at Nana, who then walked over and hugged her.

"I...never knew how hard life was for you." She said softly. "I….I-"

"I know…" Lucy said with a soft tone of voice. "But….I killed so many...I don't even know if I can gain redemption…" Seh said with solemness.

"As long as you have people who care and love you...then you have a chance." Ben said as he went up to her and looked at her, "But the question is….are you willing to work for it though?" He asked her, making Lucy sigh a bit and wipe the tears away.

"I do….I seriously do want to try...I'll do whatever it takes to find redemption!" She said urgently to them all, making all of them smile.

"I'm sorry too." They all turned to see Kouta coming back to them all, and him having tears go down his eyes as he walked up to Lucy. "I know I should hate you for killing Kanae and my dad….but it's my fault as well...I lied to you, I didn't want to hurt your feelings by revealing that Yuka is a girl...but I just made things worse." He then breathed and wiped his face as he looked at her. "You might have killed them...but I had a hand at it as well…" He said with regret.

"Kouta…" Lucy said with sadness and solemnity. Yuka looked on at the sight, there was some guilt building up in her as well. She remembered how she acted like a little girl….if Kouta invited you to be with them...well she would be a bit upset...but she would have liked to meet another person and make a friend. But she too was a bit conflicted about the whole thing.

Kouta breathed a bit before looking at her. "There's no way I can ever forgive you for what you did to Kanae or my dad….but if you promise...to no longer kill people….you can keep staying here." He said to her, making her surprised.

"R-really?" She asked with hope in her eyes.

Kouta nodded his head. "Yes…..because...I still love that little girl I met long ago…" He confessed. "And despite Nyu already choosing...I love her as well." He said to her. When he said this, part of Lucy was happy….but there was another part...that was pretty conflicted.

Why was she conflicted? Because Lucy has been….well..she has been feeling things for someone else, a someone that wears a watch on his wrist. Was she...yes...Lucy couldn't deny it any longer. Lucy...the Queen, has developed feelings for Ben Tennyson, but she still had feelings for Kouta as well…

"Ok...I promise." She said to him, much to his relief.

"Wait a minute!" Yuka exclaimed. "Kouta! You're seriously letting her live here? She killed Kanae!"

"I KNOW!" He shouted at her, shocking her, he then took a breather. "But she told us about why she did it, and she ain't the only one to blame, I also had a hand at it as well!" He breathed in and out to keep himself calm. "If only I told her your real gender...then maybe things would have gone so...bad." He looked back at Lucy again. "I told you Yuka was a boy because I didn't want to hurt your feelings….but looking back on it now...I realize now that I should've told you the truth and be honest."

Lucy then gave him a sad look. "And If I didn't assume the worst and let that voice manipulate me….I never would have gone after Kanae and your father...she told me to kill you too...but you and I were friends, so I didn't want to kill you." She said, but then she looked at him with wide eyes again. "Again….I'm so sorry for what I did...I regret it alot, I think about it almost every day-" but Kouta stopped her.

"I….as I said, I don't know if I can ever forgive you….but...let's move on, alright?" He said, making her nod with approval. "Now...if you could, what happened after that?"

Lucy then explained that due to the voice's influence on her, she went on killing more people, and she was on the run from the authorities. Then one day, she met up with a girl named Aiko, and it seems as if things were coming around...the voice had kept trying to feed her lies, but she wouldn't listen...then one day, she explained how Aiko accidentally killed her father and they both ran to a nearby department store, and they got cornered by Kurama that was when she got locked up in the facility, and how she had escaped, she murdered a shit-ton of guards and got out.

During the whole story, Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, and Nozomi were all shocked and horrified by it all. All of them were very saddened, even Yuka was beginning to feel tears go down her eyes. Kouta...Kouta finally realized just how fucked up Lucy's life was. But the whole killing guards...it made them all...somewhat conflicted though.

"I got the Nyu personality after a benign shot…" She said to them. All. "After that, I fell off and landed in the ocean...and that was when you all met Nyu…" She said to them all, and she looked at them all. "Listen...now you all know….I know none of you could ever forgive me….but I do want to try to change for the better….just...I know you can't forgive me for all the deaths I committed….but, please….give me a chance." She begged as she got on her knees.

"Please….don't get rid of me...please," she begged as tears began to fall out of her eyes and onto the ground. Meanwhile, a sinister voice was inside her.

" _WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHILD!_ " The DNA Voice yelled inside. " _They don't give two shits about you, they will eventually lead-_ "

"SHUT UP!" Lucy suddenly yelled, spooking everyone. "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screamed. The sudden outburst from her made everybody jump in fright, Mayu immediately ran over to Max and held onto him, and Nozomi was so scared that she peed in her diaper….again. She then looked up to see everybody looking at her with concerned looks, and she immediately became ashamed. "I'm sorry….." she said as he immediately ran.

"Lucy!" Ben called out, but she ran all the way to the door, not listening to everybody.

( _Eyecatch featuring a young Kouta with younger versions of Yuka and Lucy at his sides._ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Bando looking out into a sunset._ )

_Yuigahama Beach_

Lucy was now on the beach, her knees in the sand as she was crying to herself as the voice still kept on talking to her. "I don't want to talk to you." She said.

" _Oh, jeez,_ " The voice said. " _Do you really care for all those pathetic humans? Sooner-or-later, they will all betray you._ "

"No...they...won't," Lucy said firmly. "I have listened to you long enough….I was in my dark place and I let you talk me into killing people….you don't give two fucks about me, you only care for yourself." She said. "And I won't elimi-"

**BANG**

She then quickly turned her head and saw Bando, with a vengeful smirk on his face. "Finally!" He said. "I get to kill you right here and now!" He said as he then pointed the gun and aimed for her. "This is for what you did to my eyes and my arm! Die bitch!" He said as he then started to fire, but Lucy immediately jumped out of the way.

"Listen!" she said to him. "I don't want to fight you, I just-'' But she immediately used her vectors to block a torrent of bullets Bando shot out.

"I don't want to hear your bullshit!" He said. "And if you can see, I made sure that there was no trash on the beach, so you can't hurt me now!" He said as he then tried to fire more bullets at her.

Meanwhile, Ben (who was now Jetray) was flying all over the palace in the sky, with Mayu and Nana on his back. Now for Nana, she was screaming a bit as she was holding onto Mayu tightly.

"Do you see her anywhere?" Jetray asked them. Mayu, who was looking down a bit looked downtrodden.

"Sorry Ben, but I don't see her." She said, as Nana still kept a firm grip on her. Jetray then sighed and thought. Where could Lucy go? Where could she be? Then after thinking it over some more, he got an idea.

" _Yuigahama Beach!_ " He thought as he then used his accelerated speed to head off to the beachside making both girls scream in fright.

Meanwhile, Gwen and the others were on the ground following Jetray. "Why the hell can't Tennyson turn into Humungousaur? Give us all a lift?" He asked.

"Yea Kevin, let Ben turn into a big dinosaur and expose him to everyone in Kamakura!" she said with sarcasm. Kouta and the others were so lost but were even or in shock of what Bone was transformed into. As soon as they all got back, Kouta was going to ask him to show more forms.

Meanwhile, back at the beach, Bando was now in pain as he was grabbing his nether regions. Lucy was not going to dodge the bullets forever, and despite the voices, he was saying, she was not going to kill Bando, if she did, she would never forgive herself nor would Kouta forgive her...so she decided to use her vector to try to get close and she landed a kick right in his….tenders.

"You...bitch!" He wheezed a bit in pain, Lucy was just standing over him and watching. "You think you can take my groin too?"

Lucy sighed and glared. "I don't want to kill you, you dumbass!" She snapped at him. "Why can't you understand that I don't wanna fight you!"

Bando chuckled through the pain and glared up at her. "Well I do, as I said, it's revenge for what you did to my eyes and my arm as well!" He snapped.

Lucy sighed. "Listen-"

"LUCY!" She looked up to see Jetray and the others coming up to her on the beach, the sight of the Aerophibian made Lucy shocked a bit, but Bando was even more shocked.

"That kid again?" He asked through the pain. Nana and Mayu got off of Jetray and he pressed the dial on his chest, turning him back into Ben. Ben, Mayu, and Nana got a look at Bando and went wide-eyed.

"Oh shit, it's that guy again," Ben said with annoyance. Bando, who got some mobility back in his groin got up and stared him right in the face.

"Listen you, little bastard, I don't care what you are. But you are not going to get in the way of-"

**POW**

Banos was immediately kicked in the face by Kouta, and he fell to the ground.

Ben smirked and looked at Kouta. "You know, maybe focus on punching guys rather than girls, dude." He said with a smirk but stern tone. That little comment made Kouta look away in embarrassment.

Ben then used his Omnitrix to turn into Big Chill and froze Bando right on the spot, after that, Big hill turned back into Ben. Everyone looked at him with amazing eyes.

" _Just how powerful is he with that watch thing?_ " Kouta, Yuka, Nozomi, and Mayu thought with amazement and shock. Bando wasn't deterred though and he struggled to get out of the ice.

"Let me out, you little bastard!" Bando exclaimed with anger.

"No," Ben said with his arms crossed over his chest him sounding and looking a bit stubborn. Bando looked on and growled.

"You little.." But then he took a glance to see Mayu and went wide-eyed. "YOU!" He shouted. "You knew where she was? And you didn't tell me you little bitch?" Kouta was not too happy about what he called Mayu and was about to tell him off, but Mayu stopped Kouta.

"Don't, Kouta." She said. "Let me explain to him." She said and she went up to the angry Bando. "Mr. Bando, I know you might not want to hear this, but yes, I did keep it a secret from you. But for very good reasons."

"Yea? Like what?" He said with anger. Mayu breathed deeply and she went on to explain Lucy's life to him, the shit she went through, and all the other stuff up until that night, and about the DNA Voice. During it, all, Bando's anger...softened a bit, and he began to feel something...something he hasn't felt in a long time...remorse and disgust. Disgust for the bastards at the facility he was hired by, and he felt remorse for what happened to Lucy.

"Damn…" Bando said with a soft, yet gruff voice. "I...knew you were fucked over so much.." He said to Lucy, but he then glared at her. "But don't think I'm going to forgive you for my eyes and arm!"

"I know...and again. I'm sorry for what happened" She said to him with remorse. "As I said, I was so angry at the time and the voice influenced me." She said as she then used her vectors and sliced up the ice to get Bando out of the ice. The man felt chilly, but he was tough and he would deal with it.

"Well, whatever…" He said as he rubbed his arms. "I dealt with my new eyes and new arm for half-a-year now...anyway kid." He said as he turned his attention to Ben. "What are you going to do about that...voice inside that horned girl's head?"

"Well, the plan is simple," Been explained to them all. "The people in my world are building a device that will allow me to go inside Lucy's mind and take down the voice. They say that it is almost finished, but I beg it will be ready soon." He said. "Now that ain't the only plan...I am also planning on going to that facility and release all of the other Diclonius trapped there as well." This made a few of them look surprised, but Lucy and Bando looked surprised as well.

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked him with shock, making Ben nod his head.

"You're crazy kid," Bando said with a sigh. "I haven't been there long but I have seen some pretty fucked up shit in there done to those kids."

"And that's EXACTLY why we have to get them out!" Ben said to them all. "Why do you think they want to kill and hate all humans huh?" He asked them. "Because of shit like this, and due to Nana and Lucy both hearing the voice, it's pretty obvious that the voice is getting to them all as well...if we get them out and eliminate the voice, then maybe they can get a chance to live a normal life."

Everyone then looked down and thought it over. The band began to see Ben's point, Kurama must have told him lies or stuff, which he was going to ask Nana about later on. But he thought of something. "You got to like what...how many monsters in that weird watch of yours? Why don't you go and do it yourself?" Bando asked.

"Well, this job will require a lot more people than me….and besides...Lucy will have to help me out."

"Why me?" she asked him.

"Duh, you're the queen." He said to her. "And since you are labeled as such, then maybe you might have a chance to try to go to them all." He said, making Lucy look at him a bit, and she simply nodded her head.

"Ok then.." She said, but she wasn't really...so sure about it.

Ben then sighed and looked at them all. "Let's all get back to Maple Inn. 1.) To go over stuff. 2.) Because if we stay here longer, people will begin to notice Lucy and Nana." As he said that, everyone looked to see that Lucy and Nana were out in the open without any hats on, and so everyone scrambled a bit to get back to the house. Meanwhile...a mysterious woman saw them and followed them...slightly behind.

* * *

_Maple Inn_

Ben and the others all sat around a table, Bando was simply standing on a wall with his arms crossed.

"So Paradox got your papers on the guy who runs the facility, grandpa?" Gwen asked him.

"Yea," Max said as he got out a bunch of papers and showed them on the table. "The guy is Hiroshi Kakuzawa, the Director and boss of the whole place." He said as everyone got to a picture to get a look at him. "Apparently, he believes that he and his family are Diclonius themselves due to them having horns on their heads as well."

"Wait, the Director has horns too?" Bando asked. "He is a Diclonius as well?"

"No, he isn't," Max said to them all. "He just thinks he and his family are, from what we've seen, it's mainly just a skin condition, take a good look." He got a picture of Kakuzawa without his horns and showed it to everyone else. "Now compare those horns to the kind that Lucy and Nana have."

"He's right," Nana said. "This man doesn't have the same kind of horns as me or Lucy! This guy really wants to get rid of humanity for this?"

"That's' right," Max said. "He believes that he and his family are descended from honored people of long ago, and now he wants to wipe out all humanity. That one night, he tried to unleash a missile that would explode and spread a virus, but luckily, my grandson got rid of it." Max said as he ruffled Ben's hair, making the grandson chuckle a bit.

"Wait," Bando said as he looked at Ben. "Was that you that stopped it? I remember seeing a big block of ice in the sky and saw some big Ultraman-looking bastard."

"Yep, that was me," Ben said with a smirk.

Bando then sighed a bit and rubbed his head. "This shit is too much to handle...I swear to god…" He grumbled.

Max then looked over at Lucy with a serious look. "Lucy...there's one more thing you should know." He said, and everyone looked at the older gentleman. "This is going to be hard to take in, but Paradox actually got some more info, and well...we found out that...you have a younger brother." He said.

Silence…...silence….

"WWWHHHAAATTT?!" They all shouted together with comical looks on their faces.

"You mean she has a sibling?" Kouta asked with shock.

"Why haven't I been told this?" Ben exclaimed.

Max got them all to calm down and began to explain. "Yes, Lucy has a younger brother. Unfortunately, Paradox's time here was up so he didn't provide me with enough information, but Lucy does have a younger brother. We don't have the information on how he came to be, but once we head to the facility we can find him and get high out of there."

Lucy was trying to take all of this as much as she could, and it gave her a headache. The headache was so great...that she fell unconscious, making some of them worried.

"Lucy!" Ben and Kouta said in unison as they both went over to the girl Lucy looked up and was blurry as she looked at both boys...both boys….whom she loved.

"Kaede…" she mumbled.

"What was that?" Kouta asked.

"My...name-" But then, Lucy fell unconscious, Yuka placed her hand on her head and it felt hot.

"She's running a fever, get her to the bedroom and I'll get a washcloth ready." She said as she went to the kitchen, and Kouta and Ben went to take Nyu into her bed.

_5 minutes later…_.

Bando was now sitting down at the table with Nana and Mayu looking at him, he gave both girls an annoyed look but sighed.

"You know...at first I Was issued off at that girl for what she did to me...but hearing all the shit she went through...I actually feel bad for the bitch….and I did my own share of fucked up shit in the past…" He said as he rubbed his face.

"Well," Nana began. "Lucy wants to seek redemption...and maybe….you could try to get it as well?" She suggested. "I mean you stopped to listen to the story.

"Only because your American friend froze me." He said with a grumble. "But still...your father set me up though, telling me how Diclonius wants to end the world and all that shit."

"But you heard Ben though!" Nana said. "If we weren't treated like rats..then we might be able to get on with our lives. It's only thanks to Papa that I didn't give in to despair!"

"Nana, calm down," Mayu said gently as she turned to Bando. "Mr. Bando…I can see you have some good in you….and I forgive you, despite you threatening my life so long ago...but please...if you could, please stop trying to kill Lucy...and please help Ben take down that horrible man at that facility."

Bando looked at Mayu and then back at Nana, and he sighed. "Well...I might as well. I got nothing better to do." He said with a sigh, and Mayu smiled happily, and so did Nana...sorta.

Meanwhile, the woman who followed them was outside the gate and had a big smile on her face. " _We got the location of Lucy!_ " She thought with glee as she began to run down the street. She did feel bad about the boy's family though… " _I'll ask the Director..maybe he can leave that young boy and his family alone._ " And her mind then thought of Ben, sure she didn't know him, but she saw him as a kind boy...sorta. " _Kid...when the time comes...you and your friends will have to leave Lucy and get out of here...for your safety,_ " She thought with guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, folks, the next chapter will be really big! And I am excited to write for it. So as we all saw, Lucy had come out to the others, and Bando is also another one who found out as well. And Arakawa….found out...what is going to happen? We shall have to wait and see.
> 
> So the next chapter….wow...it will be a bit crazy..and it will lead to a part of the finale, so be ready folks..because we are nearing the end :)
> 
> Anyways, please don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you all and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time :)


	33. Valentines Day Omake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in the spirit of Valentine's day, I figured it would be fun of me to write a little lemon about Ben and Nyu :)
> 
> As I said before, any lemon I write will be posted here since I don't want fanfic.net to flag my stories and stuff like that.  
> So for the lemon...expect to see Teacher-student Roleplay ;)
> 
> Ben 10 belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump and the anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

_Maple Inn_

Today was a good day at Maple Inn...because it was once again Valentine's day and it was the day dedicated to someone you love the most. Everybody was sitting down at that table and were smiling at eachother.

“Wow, this chocolate heart is truly amazing!” Nana said as she was munching on the delicious sweet with delight, while also getting some chocolate on her cheek.

“Yea and you're making a mess of yourself a bit,” Mayu said with a smile of her own, making Nana stare at her with a small glare.

“Mayu, you’re so mean!” She poutfully said, making the others giggle a bit. Kevin was smirking over at Gwen and nudged her a bit, making her look over at him. Kevin nodded towards the door a bit, indicating that they should get out of here..but Gwen rolled her eyes and gently shoved him away.

“And I am happy that Ben and his family can spend it with us,” Yuka said. “Right?” She asked.

“Yea, we are,” Kouta said with a soft smile and everybody had exchanged all their gifts and candy for each other and laughed. Kevin looked over at Ben and smirked as he got out a small box of cookies and handed them to Ben.

“Here you go, Tennyson.” He said. “I figured you might want something good to eat.” This made Ben and Gwen look surprised a bit as Ben took one.

“Wow...thanks Kevin.” Ben said as he took a cookie and shoved it in his mouth, but unfortunately, once he did...he regretted it instantly. “Kevin...did you fill these cookies….with toothpaste?” He asked. And the answer? Kevin simply laughed a bit as Ben glared and grabbed a napkin and spit it out. Mayu, Nana, Nyu, and Nozomi were giggling a bit, and Yuka and Kouta sighed and rolled their eyes. 

Jerk!” Ben said as he grabbed a cookie and threw it at Kevin, who got him and got crumbs and toothpaste on himself.

“Hey! No food fighting!” Yuka said. “I just cleaned up!” She said. Everyone then just laughed a bit, and Yuka sighed and rubbed her head.

_Later…_

Ben was in the bathroom rinsing his mouth out. “Stupid Kevin..” He muttered as he spits out the mouthwash and wiped his mouth clean of the access toothpaste and mouthwash. “I’m gonna get him back at some point.” He said with anger. Then he heard the door a bit and then turned to see Nyu come inside and he smiled. “Oh, hey.”

“Hey, Ben..are you alright?” She asked as she went up to him. 

Ben sighed as he then wiped more of his mouth off again. “Yea, Kevin thinks he is so funny.” He said with annoyance. But then he was grabbed by Nyu and kissed by her as well.

“Mmm, you taste really minty,” Nyu said with a giggle, and Ben shook his head at her, making her giggle some more. “Anyway,” She said as she laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “I have your gift for you.” She said.

“Oh?” Ben asked as he looked down at her. “What is it?” Nyu looked up and pecked him on the nose.

“Well, I can show you since everybody is still awake.” She said to him. “We must wait till later tonight before everybody is asleep, alright?” She asked. Ben was a bit confused, but he nodded his head in agreement. “Great!” She said as she kept on hugging him, but unknown to him, she looked down to his crotch and licked her lips with anticipation.

_A Few Hours Later…._

Ben was now laying inside his futon, everybody had gone off to bed. But he was still up and waiting for Nyu to arrive with her gift for him. “ _I wonder if it might be a big box of candy._ ” He thought with interest as he then began thinking of the many possibilities of what Nyu got for him.

As he was waiting some more, he was greeted by a soft knock. “Ben, it's me,” Nyu said through the other side in a soft tone. Ben assumed she spoke softly to not wake anyone up. He smiled and went over to the door.

“Hey Nyu,” He said as he began to open up the door. “So what did-'' But as soon as he saw Nyu..his jaw literally dropped to the floor. Because Nyu was now wearing Nozomi’s school uniform, but she had the skirt hiked up a bit, exposing her dripping pussy, and the top buttons were undone, making her cleavage get exposed a bit.

“Ben...since it’s Valentine's Day…” she said with a flushed face. “I was wondering...if maybe I could be your present?” She asked him. Ben then snapped out of his shock and smiled and wrapped an arm around her.

“Of course you can...so...what's the occasion?” He asked, making Nyu look at him and flush a bit.

“I was reading some hentai a few days ago,” She said with a flushed face. “And I want to try something….I want you to act as my teacher…” she said with a flushed face.

Ben looked at her with surprise. “ _So she wants to roleplay...this should be interesting._ ” He thought. “Well then, you better get in here then.” He said with a dominating voice, making Nyu blush.

“Y-yes, sir!” She squeaked as she hurried into the room. Ben was now getting hard at the thought of fucking Nyu with that uniform on. “ _This is going to be good...I sure hope not to mess it up though, I have never roleplayed before._ ” As he was looking at Nyu getting ready he stopped her for a moment. “Hey, Nyu….uh...where do you want me to unload?”

“I want it all inside.” She said to him without hesitation, making him go wide-eyed. “Don’t worry, I took some pills. I really want to feel your cum enter my pussy.” She said to him.

Ben was a bit nervous, he had often heard of those pills not working...but still, if she wanted him to cum inside her, then he would do it. And if they have a child? Well...Ben decided that they would cross that bridge when they get to it.

_5 minutes later…._

“Nyu!” Ben commanded as Nyu was on her knees. “Did you manage to get your homework done?” He asked with a stern tone of voice, such a voice always turned Nyu on.

“N-no, sir...I forgot.” She said with shame.

Ben glared at her and shook his head. “This is now the fourth time this week you have done this...I hate to do this...but I feel the need to call your parents and tell them-”

“No! Please!” Nyu begged as she wrapped her arms around his legs. “Please Don't tell my parents, I’ll do anything!”

Ben looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. “Anything?”

“Anything!” Ben then thought about it and smirked. 

“Ok, then Nyu….stand up for me.” She did without hesitation. As he went closer, he then placed his hands and rubbed her chest, making the girl flinch a bit. “So...you’ll do anything, you say?” He asked her.

“Y-yes?” she asked with nervousness, but in her mind, she was very excited about it. “Wh-what are you going to do with me?”

“Well, that depends.” He said with a seductive voice. “Turn around for me.” He said, and Nyu did, part of her roleplaying was that she had to be nervous...but she couldn’t help it because she was so excited at the thought of having sex with the boy she loved. Ben then grabbed the skirt and hiked it up to reveal that she wasn't wearing any panties and that she was dripping. “Hmm...your dripping..and you have no panties on...why?” He asked her with a stern tone of voice.

“Well...uh…” Nyu said, not really knowing why. But her muttering was silenced by a firm spank.

“If you don't tell me the truth..then I’ll have to punish you then!” He said as he then leaned forward, covered her mouth with his left hand, and used his right hand to give her a few spanks on her rump. Nyu was moaning in his hands, she was trying very hard to keep the moaning to a minimum to not wake anyone else up in the house...but the thought of it...the thought of her and Ben being found out….it made her even hornier.

“Yes!” Nyu moaned in her head. “ _Spank me like a bad girl!_ ” She moaned as she was now feeling so good from it.

Ben, now getting into his role, stopped spanking her and turned her back around to face him, his hands firmly on her ass cheeks. “You’re not going to tell your parents are you?” He asked, making Nyu shake her head no. “You better not...or your punishment will be very, very, worse.” He whispered the last part in her ear and nibbled at her neck a bit, making her shudder up.

Then Ben opened up her skirt and now was looking at her breasts. “You got a nice rack here.” He said as he fondled them to his heart's delight. Nyu was holding onto his shoulders as she was biting her bottom lip as well.

“S-sensei...this seems hardly appropriate.” She moaned. And Ben smirked at her.

“Well you aren’t trying to stop me~,” Ben said through his fondling of her. “I wonder how they taste too.” He said as he then took Nyu’s left breast and took it to his mouth and began sucking as if he was trying to suck some liquid out. Nyu was squeaking and moaning at the feel of Ben’s touch...she would never doubt that Ben was indeed amazing at touching.

At this point, Nyu was beginning to fondle herself as her fingers went into her own pussy as she felt more and more heated. And then Ben immediately stopped, making Nyu look at him with sadness and whimpering.

“If you don't want me to tell, get on your knees and service me.” He said with a dominating smirk. Nyu nodded her head and began to rumble at his pants, trying to get them off, but she was just so excited so she fumbled a bit, something that Ben too noticed. “ _Man, she’s really eager at this roleplaying thing._ ” He thought. But as soon as he was thinking, he immediately groaned as Nyu’s tongue went right to his hard cock.

“ _I never get tired of tasting Ben’s amazing cock._ ” Nyu thought as she bobbed as if there was no tomorrow. As she was bobbing, she felt Ben grab her head and force her to go deeper, attempting to deep throat, such action was making Nyu very wet.

“Such a good student.” Ben sighed with bliss as she felt her wet tongue on the tip of his cock and then he felt her hand massaging his balls, and it felt so good. “ _Nyu is so good at this stuff._ ” He thought. After a few minutes, he felt that he was about to shoot off and he let Nyu know. “I’m about to cum, and you better be a good student and not dare to spill a drop of it!” He commanded, making Nyu moan, he was guessing that that was her way of agreeing with him. “Oh shit…” He groaned as he felt all the semen about to come right up .”Ohhhh!” He wheezed as he felt his cum shoot right out and into Nyu’s mouth.

Nyu’s mouth was now full of cum and was trying very hard to swallow, but found some difficulty, but after a few moments, she was able to get it all down her throat. She looked up at Ben and opened her mouth and had her tongue out, showing that she had swallowed it all.

“How did I do sensei?” She asked innocently with her finger on her lip in an innocent face. Ben smirked.

“You did well...but I think you need to do one more thing for me.” He said as he lifted her skirt and looked at her now dripping pussy. “Get on the ground and hold your legs up for me.” He ordered.

“H-hai!” She said as she immediately got onto the floor and lifted her legs. Outwardly she was roleplaying, but inwardly, she was very excited about feeling Ben’s cock in her pussy. Ben then took off his shirt, exposing his chest, and made Nyu blush some more. “ _Oh God, he is so hot!_ ” She thought with sweat going down her face.

“Do you want my dick?” He asked her, nodding her head. “Well if you want it, you better beg for it, you naughty student.” He growled at her.

“Please!” Nyu pleaded. “Please fuck my naughty student pussy!” She said to him with pleading eyes, such eyes always made Ben have butterflies in his stomach because those eyes always made her look cute.

“Alright then,” Ben said as he got down and got in position, he lined up his cock to Nyu’s entrance and began to tease it a little, this teasing made Nyu whimper and Ben smirk at it.

“Sensei..please!” Nyu begged with all her life. Ben then smiled as he then grabbed his cock, and plunged right in her. “OOOOOH!” She said loudly, but Ben then quickly put his hands over her mouth and looked at the door with worry.

“Nyu, remember, we have to keep it quiet,” Ben said as he broke out of character to warn her.

“Sorry Ben, I just love the feeling of having your penis enter me.” She said with an upset voice.

Ben sighed and looked at the door again, and then at the ceiling. “Well, no one heard us, so we should be in the clear, but be a bit more careful alright?” He asked, making Nyu nod her head. “Good...now….where were we~?” He asked seductively and they began their sex.

Ben had a firm grasp on Lucy’s hips and he thrust into her, due to Ben holding her, Nyu put her legs down and wrapped them around his waist. Ben loved this feeling, his penis touching Nyu’s wet warm pussy...it all felt so amazing. Then he switched position and he leaned forward so that their faces met and he slammed his lips onto hers.

Nyu’ then wrapped her hands around Ben’s neck and kissed him back, their tongues both fighting for dominance. The feeling of his cock pistoning her, and the feeling of his tongue on hers, it was driving the horned girl crazy. She had to keep her moaning to a minimum and it was like music to Ben’s ears. She moaned, even more, when she felt Ben kissing and licking at her neck a bit.

“Do you like it when I nibble at your neck?” He asked her, when he saw Nyu nod shamelessly he smirked. “God, how shameless are you? I was expecting you to take it all, but now you seem to be enjoying it.” He said.

“I...got no excuses Sensei!” She moaned. “I always fantasized about you doing this to me!” She said breathlessly to him.

This made Ben raise an eyebrow. “Oh? You fantasized about me fucking you?”

“Yes, Sensei!” She moaned. “All the time, even in the back of the class, when I see you, I masturbate under the table, and at night when I’m studying, I fantasize about you alot!” She said shamelessly. “That’s why I’m not wearing any panties...because I didn’t feel like putting my hand down without them in the way.”

“You really are a slut aren’t you? A shameless slut.” He said as he kept thrusting into her pussy.

“Oh, yes~!” She moaned. Ben knew that this was merely roleplay but got it was so sexy hearing her dirty talk to him like that. 

After a few more thrusts, kisses, and sucking of her tits, he felt like he was about to cum. “Nyu...I’m about to cum...and you better take it all!” He growled.

“Yes, Sensei~” Nyu moaned in bliss as he kept on thrusting. “Oh yes, yes, yes, yes-” She said shamelessly as he kept on fucking her. And Ben felt like he was about to release. 

“Ooooo!” He growled as he emptied all of his cock into Nyu’s pussy, she could feel it...all his delicious seme entering her body through her pussy….she never experienced something like that before….and it felt so good! Ben panted as he then laid on top of Nyu, his head going onto her right breast, and Nyu smiling and rubbing it with affection. After a few minutes, he looked up at her. “So..do you promise to make sure your homework gets done?” After Nyu nodded, he smiled at her. “Good girl.”

_5 minutes later…._

Ben and Nyu were now snuggling together. After their passion, they had got cozy and settled for the night, Nyu was resting on Ben and smiled widely.

“So...how was it?” Ben asked her.

“Amazing~.” She said softly to him as she leaned up and gave him a passionate kiss. “How was I?”

“You were fantastic as well.” He said to her. “But I am a bit beat though...we should get some rest.”

“Right,” Nyu said and the two got quiet again, but not before Nyu had one last thing to say. “Happy Valentines Day, my love.”

Ben looked at her and kissed her again. “Happy Valentine's day, babe.” He said and just like that, the two lovers had begun to close their eyes, and head off into a deep sleep, this day would forever be implanted into their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowzas, that was the second time I wrote a lemon. So how was it? Was it good? I hope it was.
> 
> Anyways that will be it, for now, next time will be another official chapter. 
> 
> Don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you all and happy to answer any questions you might have for me.
> 
> See you all next time, and Happy Valentines Day :)


	34. Attack at Maple Inn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLOOOOOOOO! Sorry about that, but here we are with another chapter of Ultimate Lied, and the one I am the most excited for :)
> 
> So as I mentioned last time, we are near the end of the story, and from what I’m seeing, we are at three more chapters left :)
> 
> Anyway, this one is going to be a bit crazy, it might be a bit short, but it will still be a big chapter. So sit back and enjoy :)
> 
> Ben 10 Belongs to Man at Arms and Cartoon Network
> 
> Elfen Lied belongs to writer Lynn Okamoto and Weekly Young Jump, and the Anime was produced by Arms and licensed by Sentai Filmworks.

_Diclonius Institute/Grotto_

“Hmm...so you found them then..” Kakuzawa said with a small smirk as he listened to Arakawa’s words. After what she had seen, she went back to tell Kakuzawa what she had seen, and she told him that she had found Lucy and that boy with the watch.

“Yes…” She said with some level of regret. “But sir...I was thinking...that one boy...can’t we let him go? I mean...he doesn't seem so harm-”

**POW**

Arakawa was sent flying back onto the ground from a heavy blow. As she got up groggily, she saw a gun right in her face and saw Kakuzawa, giving her a death glare.

“Are you questioning me, bitch?” He asked, making the woman shake her head rapidly. “Good…you know we need Lucy and that boy...I want to know just what he really is….he sounds very interesting.” He said as he then turned out to the sea again. 

“Father…” the sea said as its eyes looked at him once again. “The time is drawing near…”

Kakuzawa smiled. “Yes, my dear….the time is drawing near...and by that time, it will be my time.” He said with smoke as he got out a phone. “Get me Nousou.” He said through his phone.

* * *

_Diclonius Institute/Monitor Station_

Inside a small little monitor room, there was a group of men all eating some food.

“So,” One of the doctors said. “How’s Doctor Nousou?”

“Dining.” The other doctor said as he slurped on some noodles. 

Dining huh?” Doctor #1 said with a deadpan. “Well, the food he eats is very...unique, after all.” He said.

“I agree,” Doctor #2 said. “He eats nothing but candy...talk about weird.” Doctor #1 nodded, unaware that someone was watching them from behind a doorway.

“Well at any rate, chocolate is the best.” Doctor #1 said with a bead of sweat going down his head. “I meant it just looks-”

“Oh..well, I do apologize for being weird.” A soft-spoken voice said to them.

“ _Oh, shit!_ ” the two doctors thought with unison, and they both turned to him. “Doctor Nousou!” Doctor #1 exclaimed.

Nousou was a man who appeared to be around his 30’s, who looked...kinda feminine, his hair was long and was in a ponytail he wore a shirt and baggy pants that were held by a strong, and he seems to be eating some Pocky from a box. 

“Now you really shouldn’t make fun of something as delicious as chocolate.” He said with a smile. “Chocolate is just...absolutely...tasty!” He said as he grabbed a pocky and licked it with his tongue, he then heard an alarm go off and raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the alarm indicator?”

“Oh, uh, yes!” Doctor #1 said as he and Doctor #2 turn back to check on what’s going on.

As Nousou was eating his Pocky he looked up at the screen. “Huh, today’s number is still low, huh?”

“Yes, Doctor!” Doctor #2 said. “But it seems like it has something to do with the incubation growth.” He said as they all began to look at the screens.

“This too,” Doctor #1 said as he was eating his noodles. “It’s getting unexpectedly habitual.”

“Hmm, that's true,” Nousou said as he walked over a bit to a screen. “But you need to keep in mind that this is for the sake of the world.” He turned back around to see that in front of him...was a former Diclonius….who was skinned alive and was showing nothing but its ribs, spine, and bones as well from the chest up. “We require these spinal crosses, am I right?” He asked. He then heard a ringing and Doctor #1 answered it.

“Hello?” He asked, he then turned to Nousou. “It's for you, Doctor.”

“Hmm? Who could it be?” He asked as he placed the pocky in his smooth and grabbed the phone. “Hello?”

_Diclonius Institute/Director’s Office_

Nousou was now standing in Director Kakuzawa’s office, standing on one end, and Kakuzawa standing and looking out the window.

“Nousou,” He said, making Nousou look at him. “Pretty soon Lucy will be back in my grasp. Along with that boy in green.”

Nousou then widened his eyes with interest. “Well...that’s good. But I am still a bit curious about this boy you speak of...I heard rumors but not enough.”

Kakuzawa looked over at him. “Well...apparently one of the soldiers had told me that a weird American boy wearing all green had turned into Ultraman...I don’t know for sure...but I want to see it for myself.”

Nousou..he was still a bit confused but went along with it as he licked his Pocky. “Ok then .... So, what was it you wanted to call me up for? Just wondering.”

Kakuawa signed a bit. “I want to know if the preparations are up and ready. Are they?” He asked.

This made Nousou smile a bit. “Oh, absolutely. But I do wish you could come with me to take a look."

* * *

_Diclonius Institute/Dungeon_

Nousou then brought Kakuzawa down to an area that looked like a dungeon of some kind. “So you see sir, not a lot of people know about this area, especially since it looks more like a dungeon than a lab.” As he said this Kakuzawa looked around to see some figures appearing out of small hatches and peering out at them. “A bunch of Sepilets was restrained and brought down here, all of them are...pretty much failures without any humanity left though.” He said with a sigh. “But there are four of them who were proven to be successes.” He said she brought Kakuzawa over to a nearby wall and opened up a door, and once they both stepped inside they saw four Dicloni resting beyond a wall all of them wearing metal helmets. “These four girls here...they are our Diclonii.”

Kakuzawa took a good look at these girls and raised an eyebrow. “Diana, stand up!” Nousou commanded, leading one of the girls to obey his orders and stand up. “If there were four of them...then Lucy wouldn't stand no chance against them.” He said she then took off her helmet and threw it on the gourd, revealing that Diana...looks exactly like Mariko! “These girls here...they are copies of the strongest Diclonius.” He said.

“Hmmm,” Kakuzawa said as he looked at Diana very closely. “These are...copies?”

“Exactly,” Nousou said. “We managed to get a sample of Number 35’s DNA before you sent her out to recapture Lucy..and the recapture seemed to fail. Now you might be nervous that these copies might be disobedient...but take a look at their foreheads.” He said as he brushed Diana’s hair and showed a small metallic device on her forehead. “Due to their frontal lobes being cut out, we managed to make these trinkets be equipped with electrical circuits that connect to their cranial nerves, making certain that they are not disobedient to others….and they can't disobey an order...no matter how ridiculous it is.” He said with a dark smirk of his own. But his look became one of sorrow. “But it’s such a shame...after all, so many Diclonii were wasted just to check this technology out….such a shame.”

“Anything to get Lucy back...I guess.” Kakuzawa said with a bead of sweat, not really happy with a large amount of Diclonii being used for this.

“But that isn't all,” Nousou said to him. “For we added something else into them.” He said. “But let me show you. Girls, come to me.” He commanded, and then all the girls stood up and looked at Nousou and ran for him. But rather than attack, they all began to get affectionate with him. “WAIT! I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!!” He yelled as he girls all went ‘Myu, Myu.’ “KNOCK IT OFF, DAMNIT!!” He shouted. But then they all smelled something good and turned to see Nousou Pocky on the ground and all went wide-eyed.

They all ran to the Pocky and all began to eat all the goodies and this pissed off Nousou. “HEY! THOSE ARE MINE!!” He yelled loudly at them, but the girls still kept on eating, making Nousou twitch his eye a bit, but he then took a glance over at Kakuzawa, who was giving him a small, annoying glare. “Um…*laughs nervously* sorry about that sir.” He said sheepishly, making Kakuzawa sign with annoyance. 

“Are they really obedient to your orders?” Kakuzawa asked him. Making Nousou nod his head in agreement, but Kakuzawa had a frown on his face. “I don't believe it….you can make anyone stand on their own feet. If they really do listen to you...order them to do something...I don't care what it is!” He ordered.

Nousou...he just looked at Kakuzawa and had a frown on his face. “Alright then...I didn't want any of them harmed...but I guess I got no choice then.” He said as he got out a knife and handed it to Diana. “Diana!” He said, making the girls top eating Pocky and look at him. “Take this knife, and stab yourself in the arm with it, now!” He ordered. Diana then took the blade and just took it to her arm..and stabbed her own arm, she didn’t make much of a noise as Nousou smiled and Kakuzawa just looked on. Diana kept on plunging the knife in until Nousou told her to stop.

And when she did, Diana, who had been holding back alot….then screamed and cried, due to the pain she was feeling, her fellow diclonius all surrounded her and petted her head with worry and comfort. Nousou then gave a regretful look and sighed. “Diana, I’m sorry for saying such a stupid thing….I’ll make sure to get you a snack later on.” He said to her as she still cried, he sighed and turned to Kakuzawa and smiled. “Well, now you see sir, they’ll obey every order.”

Kakuzawa however...he didn't seem impressed at all. “Useless…” He said to him, making Nose look shocked and surprised.

“What?!” Nousou asked with shock. “But didn't you see? They an obey ever or-

**BAM**

Kakuzawa then shot his own hand with his own gun, making Nousou go wide-eyed. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!!?” The scientist yelled comically, but his face went quiet as Kakuzawa gave him an angry death glare.

“You want to know why Number 35 lost and disappeared?” Kakuzawa asked heatedly. “Because despite having explosives in her...she lost because that bastard Kurama had shown her affection….same as Number 17!” He then calmed down a bit but his anger remained. “As long as you give them an order, there should only be an overwhelming case of selflessness..and they shouldn't give two damns about their lives. And if you can't prove it, then this is a waste of time!”

Nousu looked at him and took into what he was saying, he did have a point...somehow. Nousou sighed and looked at the girls. “I understand, sir….let’s try something else then.” He then looked at Diana. “Diana, take the knife, and pierce your heart!” He commanded, making the girl stop crying and look on at him. “That’s an order!” He said with sternness. Diana sniffled a bit as she then picked up the knife and placed it to her heart area without hesitation. After a few seconds, she then pierced her heart with the knife, and when she did…

**BOOM**

Her heart exploded and blood was splattered all over the floor, and she fell, lying dead, with blood oozing out on the ground. Nousou looked on...but he didn't really seem too happy at all, was it because his project was ruined? Was it because he felt something for the girl? Who knows….and the others just looked on as well, as a tear went down Diana’s corpse.

“Is that good enough..?” Nousou asked him, stern, but his voice had a remnant of regret in it.

Kakuzawa sighed and nodded. “Yea...I guess.” He said as he turned his back. “Anyway, I just gotten word from that slovenly woman...she has given me Lucy’s location.” He said, making Nousou look at him with shock. “I want you to get those girls ready...because we are going to recapture her in no time….and along with that boy..” He said as he walked away.

“Yes, sir,” Nousou said as he then looked back at the girls and sighed as he knelt at Diana’s corpse. “You did good, Diana.” He said softly as he got out another pocky stick from his pocket and placed it in his mouth. “But no worries, your hearts can be substituted…” He said as he smiled at the lifeless body.

As he was walking, Kakuawa had a dark smile on his face. “ _Lucy, you and that boy...you’ll both be mine..._ ” He thought evilly. “ _And one I got you….I will finally reclaim this world...and no one will stop me._ ”

* * *

_Maple Inn_

A few days have passed since that day. The day that Lucy had revealed herself to the others. But after she fell asleep that night, Lucy had gone to sleep and you had reawoken. But today was a special day, why? Because today was the day that Nozomi is mostly like you get a letter, a letter to accept her into a music school. 

Life around Maple Inn has been a bit….off a bit, of course, everyone was anxiously awaiting what would befall onto Nozomi, but at the same time, the revelations they all went through were still taking some time to process.

Nyu in particular knew what happened and was kinda blocking some people out for a while, but Ben and Nana were the main ones trying to get her to speak. And they were going to do that today.

“Nyu...please talk to us.” Nana said to her, but Nyu wasn't answering them, she was sitting in her futon and looking away. “Nyu...you know we don't see you as anything other than our friend,” Nana said, trying to get her out of her funk but to no avail.

“Nyu, please!” Ben said to her, now practically begging her. “I know you see yourself as a monster, but you aren't one, you seriously aren't!” He said.

Nyu then looked slowly at him and got up, her eyes all red and puffy from crying and stuff like that. “But why…” She asked him in a soft and upset voice. “All the people that died...because of what I-my other half did….does that mean I’m like her too?”

“You aren’t, Nyu!” Nana said. “Only Lucy killed those people, and even though she was a victim, you both have that voice in your head forcing you to do those killings!” Nyu looked over at her and wiped away her own tears.

“I know…” she said as she sat down a bit. “Whenever I fall asleep, and my other half comes up...that voice...I see her...feel her….I feel bad stuff when she is speaking to me.” Nyu said with fright in her, she began to tremble a bit as she then noticed Ben and Nana both getting on the futon and sitting next to her. “I’m terrified….terrified that she is going to kill all of you.” She said with fright in her voice.

“We know...but we have a plan,” Ben said to her. “We are going to get a machine that will allow me to go inside your mind and once I get in there, I am going to take down that voice in your head.” He said as he grabbed her hand and held it gently. “I am not going to let that voice ruin you or Lucy’s life anymore….I won't let it happen.

“But...what about that awful place you both talked about, the facility?” She asked him. 

“We are all going to raid it, and once we do we are going to take down the man in charge over there and rescue all the other Diclonius that are trapped in there.” He said to her, now Nana was also holding onto her hand. “Listen...I’m not giving up on you, not you, and not Lucy...I’m going to save the both of you.”

“Count me in too!” Nana said to him. “Ben...you're my big brother and you're one of the most amazing people I know...and I know you could handle it all….but I want to help...please let me help.” She begged him, Nyu turned to look at Ben, who looked at Nana for a few minutes..and then he sighed a bit.

“Alright...but be careful.” He said to her, making Nana smile and nod her head. 

Nyu looked at the two figures sitting right next to her and she began to tear up right then and there….she was truly happy to have people who won’t abandon her at all. Nyu then lunged at Ben and hugged him with all her might. “Thank You...so much!” She said with teary eyes as Ben hugged her back, and Nana one in as well.

“You’re welcome,” Ben said to her with a warm smile as the trio kept hugging.

Downstairs, Kouta and Yuka were making some dinner, in preparation that Nozomi would get her letter today. As they were cooking, there was a bit of tension in the air. For the past few days, Kouta’s feelings for Lucy have been….very questionable lately, and he has been talking to Yuka a bit more.

“Hey, Kouta..” Yuka said to him. “Are you sure? About letting her stay here? Even after what she did?” She asked him calmly. 

Kouta looked at her, and then down as he sighed a bit. “I mean….I don’t know...I mean I can't forgive her for what she did to Kanae or my dad….but I am also responsible for it. If only I told her the truth...then maybe things would’ve turned out differently.” He said as he kept on chopping up some vegetables, the memory was still on his head, and feeling ashamed for it.

Yuka….she had some mixed feelings as well, her mind went back to that day and she realized how much of a pain she was being, it made her guilty. “Kouta...I’m sorry.” She said to him, making him look at her and raise an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“For acting the way I did.” She said to him. “Back then, I realized that I was being nothing but annoying….I shouldn’t have been so...so…” now she was on the verge of tears, the thought of guilt coming up to her, but then Kouta stopped cutting and went over to grab her hands.

“Yuka...I remember that you were a bit of a pain….but it was mostly my fault.” He said. “I’m the one who caused this to happen, and all because I didn't want to hurt her feelings or yours either.” He said with a soft sad tone in his voice. “It was all my fault it happened….I bet Kanae and my dad are ashamed of me right now.” He said as he looked down and tried really hard not to cry, but how could he not? At that moment Yuka went over and grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

“Don’t cry, Kouta….please.” She begged, but she too was crying, her attitude for years ago on her mind and it made her cry as well. The two cousins just stood there and hugged each other crying into each other's arms.

Meanwhile, Nozomi was a bit nervous about today, she knew that a letter would come today, but would it be accepted? Rejected? It was making her a bit nervous, but she was trying really hard, lessening her bladder to explode…

“Hey, what's the matter with you?” Nozomi turned to see Kevin, who was simply walking by.

“Oh...Kevin…” She said shyly as she turned away. Kevin took notice and raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the matter with you? You have to use the restroom?” Hre asked, making Nozomi give a small ‘Eep’ and turn.

“No, it isn't that at all!” She exclaimed. “I’m just a bit….nervous as all. I mean, my whole life I wanted to be a good singer like my mom….and I’m a bit nervous because I don't know if I’ve been accepted into the school, or not.” She said with nervousness.

Kevin looked at her and she was right, she was a nervous wreck about it, Kevin noticed this and sighed a bit. “Ok, girlie, just take it easy before you wet yourself again.” He said to her, making Nozomi blush out of embarrassment. “Look, just try to take it easy and relax. It can go either way, if you get in, great. But if not, then you can always try again. It ain't the end of the world you know.” He said to her. Nozomi looked at him and backed down a bit.

What he said.. made her not worry...at least for a little bit, she was still nervous, but she wasn't going to let it affect her today, not at all. “R-right...I’m sorry...I guess I was a bit nervous.” She said to him.

“Meh, it’s alright.” He said to her. “If you don't get it, don't let it affect you alright? We all know you can sing great.” He said with a small smile, and Nozomi blushed slightly.

“R-right.” She said as she then walked away, leaving Kevin alone, and he didn't notice Gwen waking up behind him.

“Awe, Kevin, I didn't know you were such a softie.” Gwen teased a bit, making him glare at her a bit.

“Give me a break!” He said to her, making her giggle and laugh a bit.

On the outside, Bando was smoking a cigarette as he was looking up at the sky, the sun beginning to go down, and sighed a bit. “ _Who knew that after a year and a half, I would find out a whole bunch of shit about that horned bitch._ ” He thought. “I mean I feel bad for her for what happened to her..but no way in hell am I going to forgive her for my eyes and arm!” He then took another drag from his cigarette and blew it in the air as he looked up. 

“ _Well...I guess staying with these people beats living in a small ass shack on the beach._ ” He thought as he sighed, but then he took notice of something. He spotted a few airplanes in the air and took notice of them. “The hell?” He asked as he saw the flying crafts coming much closer, then a few of them were beginning to get a bit closer to the house, alarming him. Bando took a glance up at the helicopters to widen his eyes. Those were soldier helicopters, and it doesn't take a detective to know where those choppers came from. “Oh shit!” He exclaimed as he threw his cigarette away and made a dash for it back at Maple Inn in a panic. 

In the helicopters, Nousou took a look at the house below and smirked. “Well, this appears to be it.” He said with a smile, let’s drop off here and take Lucy and that boy!” He ordered as he and the other helicopters began to lower a bit for the others to drop off.

Meanwhile, Bando ran back inside. “OI!” He hollered loudly. “GET IN HERE, NOW DAMMIT!!” He shouted, making everyone drop what they were doing and all rush in. “Those bastards from the Institution are here!” He exclaimed, making others get alarmed.

“Seriously?” Ben asked with wide eyes, making Bando nod his head. This alarmed everybody, but Kouta was stern.

“No one is taking Nyu from us!” He exclaimed.

“And they won't have to, dammit!” Bando exclaimed. “But we need to come up with a plan before they get here!” He looked at Kouta. “You, get the horned girl and your other friends and go hide someplace! I and the others will stay here and take care of the small fry!” He ordered. Kouta looked at them with concern, but at the same time...he had to agree, those guys will do whatever it took to catch Nyu.

“Alright then..” Kouta said reluctantly as he turned to the rest. “Let’s get out of here.”

“No!” Nana said to him, “If you want to go then fine, but not me, I’m staying and helping!” She said to them. Kouta and the others looked at her with shock and surprise, she really wanted to stay? “All my life, I was in that horrible place, but Papa was the only one who ever treated me with kindness….and this place is my home….everybody here, I care about with all my heart and soul.” Nana's first then trembled. “AND I REFUSE TO LET THOSE BASTARDS TAKE ANYTHING ELSE FROM ME!!” She shouted with much rage and tears threatening to spill.

Everybody was looking at the girl with shock and surprise, never did they see the normally kind girl blow up like that before.

“Damn kid…!” Bando said with shock. But he quickly shook his head. “But still there’s no time, you all need to-"

**SMASH**

At this point, the soldiers then broke inside the house, all of them armed to the tooth and nail with guns. And everyone was surrounded by them. At the front, Nousou was among them, with a pocky in his mouth and having a smile on his face. 

“I have some questions for you a lot,” He said as he chewed on the pocky he had. “And please answer with honesty, any resistance...will be met with consequences.” He said with a smirk

“Shit…” Bando, Ben, and Kouta said in unison.

( _Eyecatch featuring Ben standing in the middle, with Lucy and Nyu with him. Nyu on his left side and holding onto his arm and smiling, and Lucy on his right side with her putting a hand on his shoulder with a solemn frown._ )

* * *

( _Eyecatch featuring Kouta and Yuka standing back-to-back._ )

Ben and the others were now staring at the soldiers hard, Max had wanted Yuka and the others to scooch back a bit as tension was rising.

“Sorry to interrupt with whatever it was you were all doing.” Nousou said with a smirk .”But there are a few certain people we are looking for.” He said she took a bite out of his pocky. “Also, we have the entire area surrounded, so don’t try anything funny, alright?” He said with a cheerful tone, but Ben could see that he was being smug about it. Nana took a glance at the girls in front of Nousou and widened her eyes.

“ _Those girls…_ ” Nana thought. " _Are they even Diclonius? I can't feel their presence.._ ”

“Listen, buddy,” Ben started. “You don’t know what you-

**COCK**

Ben was immediately met with a gun by a woman who looked to be around Nousous age, she had blond hair in a ponytail and was wearing all black and had a frown on her face. “Nousou, are you blind?” She asked him with a low voice, making the man look there. “Do you not see?” She asked as she roughly grabbed Ben’s arm and showed it, revealing the Omnitrix. “We got the foreign boy with the weird-looking watch.” She then turned her attention towards Nyu, who was now being held back by Yuka, “And look over there!” She said. Nousou then turned his attention from Ben to Nyu, and when he did, his eyes widened with glee.

“Perfect…” He said with a grin. “Cynthia, go and see-”

“Wait!” He then looked at Ben, who was still beginning to hold tightly by the sharply dressed woman. “Listen to me, you don’t understand!” He tried to say, but the woman held him tighter. “Ow, hey, easy on the grip lady!” He snapped.

“You are to be silent,” she said to him. “The chief of the Institute has given us orders to have you and Lucy captured at once.” She said, making Ben and the others gasp a bit. Kakuzawa..wanted him? Lucy was one thing, but they now wanted Ben?

“Huh? Why me?” He asked with curiosity. Nousou smiled and walked towards him.

“Well you see, Chief Kakuzawa has ordered us to capture not only Lucy but also a boy wearing a weird-looking watch. We aren't really sure as to why he wants you, but we won't disobey his orders.” He said as he took another thing of Pocky. Ben then widened his eyes, how did they find out about him? Did someone squeal? This was not looking good.

But Ben was not a bit intimidated though. “Listen, I don't know why your boss wants me, but you need to listen, Lucy isn't-” but he was stopped by Nousou who put his finger to Bens’ lips.

“Now, now, now. No need to fret, but I'm afraid that we must take Lucy with us as well.” He then looked at one of the clones. “Cynthia, stabilize Lucy.” He commanded, and then, the horned girl used her vector to push Nyu back up against a wall and begin to choke her.

“NYU!!” Some of them yelled, and when Kouta saw this he immediately got angry, he pushed out of Bando’s way and angrily ran right into Nousou, and they both went tumbling backward and Kouta grabbed onto Nousou and glared at him.

“Let her go now!” He exclaimed. “And tell your friend to let Ben go as well!” He said to him, but Nousou...he was not intimidated one bit.

“Cynthia!” He ordered. “Knock him back!” And on his orders, Cynthia used her vectors to slam right into Kouta, knocking him into Yuka and the other residents of Maple Inn.

“Kouta!” Nyu said with worry as all of a sudden, she was immediately grabbed by a group of armed men. “LET ME GO!!” She screamed.

“NYU!!” Ben yelled as he tried to get her, but he was reprimanded by some soldiers as well, and punched in the gut, hurting him tremendously. More soldiers were entering the place as the captured Nyu was being restrained and taken to a helicopter outside. And now it was chaos. Kevina and Gwen knew what they had to do.

Gwen then got angry and her hands glow purple, and she then hurled a projectile into some soldiers, surprising them all.

“What the hell?” One of them said.

“That’s it!” Nousou said as he got up and was about to head on back to the helicopter with Nyu, the clones, and the mysterious woman. “Kill them all!” He commanded, and the soldiers all got their guns out.

Ben saw that Nyu was being escorted away and got angry. “Don’t you dare…..TAKE HER AWAY!!” He shouted as he then activated hsi Omnitrix in front of them all. “You want us? Then try to take us!” He said as he then slammed on the dial of the Omnitrix and was engulfed into a bright light. When The light faded, he was now replaced by a small creature of white, he had a square appendage that looked like an MP3 player on his back with a port. Had green small holes on his hands, and had green eyes and a mouth, and the Omnitrix dial on his chest. This was Echo Echo, the Omnitrix’s DNA sample of a Sonorosian.

The soldiers were all shocked. “Try to capture him!” One of them said as they all got their guns ready. Echo Echo smirked and began to duplicate himself into thirds.

“If you think.” Echo Echo #1 said.

“That you can defeat us.” Echo Echo #2 said.”

“Then you thought wrong.” Echo Echo #3 said. And with this, the three of them opened their mouths to unleash sonic screams, knocking all of the soldiers back a bit. Some soldiers tried to shoot it, but were stopped by Gwen, who used a force field around the small Sonorosian.

Kevin then coated his body with stone, and he began to fight a large mass of the soldiers, the bullets did not affect him and he began to take them down one-by-one, Gwen did the same and it was an all-out fight.

Max and Bando were protecting the others, who were watching and were shocked.

“Wow…!” Nozomi said with awe and amazement at seeing such strength and powers from Ben And his friends. Yuka was just as shocked and so was Kouta. Nana however did not like to be let out, she was ordered by Bando to stay there. But everyone else thought was just so amazed, at it all.

Nyu, who was still being held off, was just as amazed by seeing them all fight for her. “ _Ben...please save me!_ ” She thought. Nousou and the woman were looking on, but Nousou seems to be the only one interested in Ben.

“ _Hmm..this boy...I wonder if Kakuzawa would let me experiment on him..._ ” He thought as he took another pocky and put it in his mouth, and his eyes landed on the Dial on one of Echo's stomachs. “ _That Dial...I wonder…_ ” He thought.

**BAM**

There was a loud gunshot and everyone stopped fighting as they all turned to see the woman pointing a gun right at Nyu’s head, the horned girl scared with fright as the Mariko clones were surrounding her. The Echo Echo’s hit their dials and turned back into Ben, who was now staring at the woman with anger.

“Listen up!” She said to them all. “You make more moves, and this girl is dead.” She said.

“Yukino, are you insane?” Nousou asked. “The Director wanted her alive!” But Yukino did not respond.

“You, boy,” she said to Ben. “You are to come with us at once!” She said to him. Ben was now in a dilemma here, if he were to refuse, they might kill Nyu and the others, but if he were to go….he could find out where the boss is...anyway, he had to do it...for everybody there.

“Fine then,” Ben said, much to the shock of the others. “But before you take me and Nyu away...I have something to show you.” He said to them, some were confused, but You seemed really interested.

“We don't have time for you-”

“No!” Nousou said to Yukino, “let him show us, I am very excited to see how that thing works in a full circle.” He said. “Plus, I wonder if he could be useful for testing.” He said to her. Yukino sighed a bit and the clones? They didn't really say anything.

Ben looked at him with a short glare. “But you might need to get Nyu away...because the thing I’m going to show you might get her and I don't want her to get involved in the flash.” He said, Yukino got a bit suspicious, why did he ask that?

“Hmm...alright then,” Nousou said as he ordered one of the soldiers to take Nyu and hold her tightly in their arms. Ben then looked there and back at Yukino, Nousou, and the clones.

“ _I need to play this smart._ ” He thought. “ _I could use Pesky Dust to put them to sleep, but we need to get some answers from these people."_

Nana herself was also trying to think of a strategy. “ _If Ben turns, then I could just use my vectors to knock them all out, and I can use them to destroy the soldiers' guns as well...hmm, I need to play this smart._ ”

Ben then activated his Omnitrix and began to scroll through it to try to pick the right alien. “ _Ok...maybe I can use Big Chill to freeze them solid…_ ” He thought. “ _Or I could go XLR-8 and disable the guards quickly and grab Nyu, just like with the incident with Mariko._ ” He was now getting a bit nervous, but then decided to remain calm, and landed on Big Chill. “Ok, Ben...stay calm.” He said as he then pressed on the dial and he was engulfed into a bright light.

When the light vanished Big Chill was snowing in his place, this brought shock to the soldiers and Yukino, but the clones didn't say anything, but Nousou? He was amazed. “Wow!” He said with glee. “So amazing, such perfect detail! You will make an excellent test subject!”

“Hmm, sounds interesting.” The Necrofriggian said with a smirk. “But how about I freeze your bodies first!” He said as he then unleashed hsi ice breath at the ground, freezing Nousou, Yukino, and the clones together until their heads were the only one’s not frozen. “Nana, now!” He said as Nana then used her vectors to knock out all the soldiers and fling them away into the walls.

Nyu saw her chance and she used her foot to stomp on the soldier holding onto her and she quickly made a dash for it.

“Lucy is getting away, shoot her!” One of them said as he cocked their guns and pulled the trigger.

“NYU!!” Everyone screamed as Nyu screamed in fright.

_A few seconds later…_

Nothing happened, Nyu still had her eyes closed, but the bullets were still ringing, but she didn't feel anything. She slowly opened her eyes to reveal that some kind of force field was surrounding her and blocking the bullets. The sight shocked her.

“Is...is it,”

“ _Yes, it is._ ” A familiar solemn voice said in her mind. A voice that made Nyu look surprised. “ _Just keep calm, ok? Ben And The others will help us out of all this mess._ ” Lucy’s voice said to her calmly. Nyu looked out to see Gwen and Kevin taking on more soldiers and nodded her head slowly.

**BAM**

Big Chill was sent back by a vector punch from Cynthia. Nana then took a glance at her. “ _Diclonius!_ ” she thought as she then used other vectors to go towards the girls and stop their vectors, causing the eagles to immediately cry in pain.

“Girls!” Nousou called out to them.

_5 minutes later…._

All the soldiers were defeated, just like that. And Nousou, Yukino, and the clones were all frozen in ice, with Ben looking at them.

“Now are you going to stop arguing like kids and hear me out what I need to say?” He asked them, Nousou spit right at Ben, making the boy flinch a bit.

“Don't you dare…” Nana said in a dark tone, her look speaking of murder, but was held back by Mayu, who had a firm grasp on her wrists. Ben sighed and turned to face Nousou.

“Listen, dude, I don't know what your boss has been saying to you, but this is one big misunderstanding.” He said to him.

“About what?” Nousou asked him. “The boss wants Lucy brought back to the institute, right away!” He said to him. “She is a monster and she will kill you all! Why are you all quick to defend-

**BANG**

Bando shot a gun in the air to shut them up. “I swear you are so annoying.” He said with annoyance, but Nousou was not intimidated in one bit.

“Listen, you idiot!” Ben said to Nousou with an angry tone of voice. “You don't know what is going on.

“Actually Mr. Tennyson, let me explain.” Ben and everyone else turned around to see who the voice belonged to, and when they did, Ben was surprised.

“Kurama?” Ben asked with shock.

“PAPA!!” Nana yelled happily as she ran over and hugged her father-figure with much happiness. Ben and a few others were very shocked to see him, especially having not seen him for half-a-year. Nousou was very shocked himself and so was Bando.

“What the...where the hell did you come from?” Bando asked with shock. “I haven't seen you in god knows how long!” He said. 

Kurama, who was still holding onto Nana looked over at him. “I was….away.” He said to them. The clones, despite being in the ice, were looking over to him, and despite the masks, they were all wide-eyed under them.

“Papa?” Barbara asked with a soft tone in her voice. That made everybody look over at her and were shocked.

“‘Papa?’” Kouta asked with shock. Kurama then let go of Nana and walked close to Nousou, Yukino, and the clones, he looked down at the clones and back at Nousou. 

“Why are these girls calling me ‘Papa’, Nousou?” He asked.

“Oh really?” Nosuou asked. “You basically disappear for a year and you ask me that?” He asked with shock.

“If I were you, I would answer his questions.” Everyone else turned to see Professor Paradox standing at the doorway, with his arms crossed.

“Paradox!” Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Max said in unison as the professor smiled and waved to everybody.

“NOW WHO!!” Kouta, Nousou, Yuka, and Bando exclaimed comically. Meanwhile, Nyu had fallen asleep.

“Hello everybody.” the man said to them. “Oh Ben my boy, you should go outside, there's something you need to see.” He said to him, making Bena a bit confused. “Oh, and take your friends as well.” He said.

“Oh...uh...ok then?” Ben said as he then walked away to the outside, with his friends following him.

_5 seconds later…_

Ben and the others got outside of Maple Inn and were met with a surprise, why? Because there was an entire army of figures in white uniforms that resemble space suits, and they all carried some weaponry and some didn't even look human.

“Hey!” Ben said with a smile as he ran up to them all with big smile, the members of the Maple Inn however were a bit confused, and Yuka and Nozomi looked a bit frightened at some of their appearances.

“Wh-what are they?” Mayu asked as she was hiding behind Gwen, who simply patted her head.

“Those are Plumbers,” she said to the younger girl. “Don’t be frightened they’re friendly.” She said to them.

“We got the word from Paradox and that Kurama guy.” Said a wolf-like alien, this was Scout, a Loboan Plumber that was sanctioned at the Anur System in Ben’s world. “And after hearing what was going on, we all decided to mount up and raid that entire facility and rescue those girls in there.”

“And we get to see that boss guy gets ass handed to him.” Said Bryk, a bug-looking alien. Ben smiled at them and saw the ships that were nearby.

“Alright then...wait, do you have any backup weapons too?” Ben asked.

“Yep,” Scout said to him. “Paradox told us about some people living here, so we managed to get some extra suites for them to put on and some extra weapons. That is if they want to go.” He said. Ben turned to see Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, and Nozomi standing there.

“Guys…” Ben said to them. “We are going to go raid the Institute, take down the boss, and rescue the other girls. If you want to help, then that's good, but if not, then stay here.” He said to them. “I don't want any of you to get caught in the crossfire.”

Kouta looked at him and down at the ground, he then looked at Yuka, Mayu, and Nozomi and looked at them with solemness, and he sighed.

“Ben…let me come with you.” He said, making Ben and the others surprised.

“Kouta!” Yuka exclaimed. He then looked back at her.

“Yuka….” He said calmly. “Those bastards tortured Nyu...and Nana as well. I already messed up by lying to her….I can at least make up for it by helping get rid of the place where she was once captured in….besides, after hearing what goes on in there...those girls deserve a better life than being subjected as test subjects.” He said with determination. Everyone could see the Kouta meant serious business.

Yuka looked at him and sighed. “Alright then….I...I’ll come as well.”

“Me too!” Mayu said to them, much to Ben’s shock and worry.

“Mayu?” He asked with shock.

Mayu then gave him a determined look. “I want to see that horrible place get what is coming to them, for what they did to Nana and Nyu…” She said in an uncharacteristic angry tone in her voice. “And don't try to keep me out of it Ben, I want to do this.”

Nozomi looked at them all, for the time she spent with them. She was still shy but has since been more confident in herself, she still had her diaper, but she would not let her get in her way of being a famous singer like her mother….if her friends were going to fight...then so was she!

“Same here!” Nozomi suddenly exclaimed with a determined look on her face. “For the past year and a half, the people in this house have been so kind to me and they made me feel welcome...all my life I was nervous due to my father….but not anymore!” She said. “If they fight, then I fight too!” She said to them. Ben was looking on at his housemates and was smiling a bit, happy to see that they wish to help him take down Kakuzawa.

“Alright then,” Ben said with a smile. “Get these guys in suits and get them some weapons ready.”

“Got it,” Scout said to him. “And thanks to Kurama, we got suites that are resilient to a Diclonius’s vectors, so if they launch their vectors, none of us can be cut by them as long as we wear these suits.” The Loboan then turned to some of the other plumbers. “Get these kids in some suits, and once we get there, guard some of them so they don’t get shot at!” And with that, they got Kouta and the others ready.

“I know you aren’t going without me!” They all turned to see Nana, Bando, and a reawakened Lucy walk out to join them. Making him surprised.

“Nana...Lucy!” Bens aid with surprise.

Lucy walked right up to Ben and had a frown on her face, but the front isn't geared at him, it was a frown of determination. “I wish to rescue my fellow Diclonii….and to see that whole place burn to the fucking ground!” She growled. Ben smiled at her as he turned to Nana.

“Is Kurama going to, Nana?” He asked.

“Papa and that nice Paradox man said that they would catch up,” Nana said with a smile. “But I’m going too!” she said with a determined smile. Ben then saw the faces of everyone with smiles on their faces, looks of determination on all their faces. He smiled and raised his wrist, showing his Omnitrix that was glowing. 

“Alright, LET’S DO THIS!!” He shouted, making all of them erupt into cheers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright….so that was long, lol. Sorry if it took long, I was trying to see how I could do this differently, plotwise.
> 
> Originally I was going to have Nyu get captured and for Ben to get captured too, but I rewrote it to be different a bit.
> 
> So the next chapter will be the raid and things will get crazy! And again...we got only three more chapters left before this story officially ends :)
> 
> Anyway’s please don't forget to read and review, and I will see you all later :)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that is it, people. Man, that was a lot of word I typed haha, so I do hope you all liked it so far and I hope I kept Bens's personality the same. The first time I am doing a Fanfic story with Ben 10 involved so bear with me people, I have only seen the original series and saw a little bit of Alien Force and seen clips of Ultimat Alien, but been doing homework on it. So anyway for the shipping. That won't happen till a littel bit later, I do plan on Ben liking Lucy/Nyu/Kaede at some point, but for now, it is limiting it to blushes and making it only a small crush. Now don't forget to read and review, I am always happy to hear from you guys and happy to answer any questions you might have for me. See you all next time :)


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